The Defenders of Luin
by TrueGamer
Summary: One-Shot Certain events causes Lloyd to be present when Luin is under attack. Sheloyd
1. Defenders of Luin

Another one shot, again just to get me back in the habit of writing. A different turn of events causes Lloyd to be present when Luin is under attack. Oh, and I made the third released seal being the Light Seal at the Tower of Mana, so it actually made sense them heading for Luin. Enjoy.

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Lloyd and the rest of the Chosen's group had just released the third seal. It was a strenuous battle that used up all of their supplies, and they still had the long trek back to Luin. However, before they were even able to leave the library on the bottom floor, Colette collapsed.

"Colette!" both Lloyd and Genis cried, as they rushed to her aid.

"I'm…okay" she stuttered, before grunting in pain and fainting.

"It's her toxicosis," started Raine, "but it's much worse than has been before."

"We should rest here," stated Kratos, seemingly unfazed by her sudden lack of consciousness, "it would be unwise to head to Luin whilst the Chosen is in this state."

They did not immediately set up camp; the previous cases of Colette's toxicosis merely affected her for matter of minutes, before she was, or at least pretending to be ready to move on. After the first hour, however, the tension within the group began to rise.

"Damn it!" yelled Lloyd, "How come she hasn't woken up yet?" He was stood up, looking over Colette as she laid on her back, if it wasn't for the regular rise and fall of her chest, you would most likely assume her dead.

"She's never been out like this before Raine." Said Genis, worry etched all over his face. He too was eyeing Colette, almost willing her to wake up.

"It is merely the process of the angelic transformation." Stated Kratos, his voice still painstakingly calm.

"Geez, can at least show a little bit of concern?" Lloyd snarled at him. "I know that she's just a job to you but she's still a human being! Show her some compassion will you."

Kratos just stared into him, it was uncertain what expression his face was revealing, but it did not alter once at Lloyd's statement. "In case you haven't noticed, getting angry at me won't help the Chosen right now."

Before he could retort, Raine interrupted, "He's right, Lloyd. Calm down, Colette will awaken when she is ready, the Chosen before her all went through this process." This didn't really have the intended effect, Lloyd had silenced, but his face still showed his anger. Kratos, however, glanced back towards Colette; something wasn't right. The transformation process never caused the Chosen to be unconscious for this long. Perhaps he should inquire with Lord Yggdrasil, in case if anything was wrong.

"We need to re-stock are supplies." Said Kratos, coming to a decision, "We are running low after releasing the seal, and as it does not appear that the Chosen will awaken anytime soon, we should send someone to Luin. If we were to run into an enemy encounter, we will need these provisions to ensure our safety." He then stood up, as if automatically volunteering himself.

"I'll go." He turned to see Lloyd, walking towards him.

"I think it will be better if I go." He was planning to use this time to check about the toxicososis; he would be able to teleport to Luin and back in no time.

"Listen, I can get there much faster using Noishe. Besides," he lowered his voice, as if not wanting to admit what he was about to say, "you…are the better fighter. If anything came to attack us, you're the best bet of getting them through it." He was expecting Kratos to make some jeering comment at him admitting the difference in their ability, but he merely replied.

"You are starting to think a lot smarter, Lloyd. You may make a great swordsman yet." But before Lloyd could thank him, or even smile at this, "Go there, get what we need, come back. Don't get distracted. No detours."

Lloyd scowled slightly, "Please, what could possibly distract me?" and he ran away from the clearing they had been resting in, and gave a quick, loud whistle. Suddenly, the dog like creature appeared almost instantly at his side. He climbed atop the creature, and said, "Let's go, Noishe." And they ran in the direction of Luin.

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"Lord Kvar, are you certain?" asked a Desian general.

"Yes I'm sure." Replied the snaring voice of the Grand Cardinal, Kvar. "That inferior being that escaped must be apprehended and exterminated, otherwise, he could reveal important information about our operations. Luin is the most likely place he could have escaped to." He was glaring at the Desian, infuriated about the fact that a prisoner escaped, and that this mere Desian was second-guessing him.

"But my Lord, considering the state of the prisoner, he surely wouldn't be able to reveal anything."

At this statement, Kvar's glare seemed to double in hatred, he raised his hand, palm facing the Desian. Sparks began emerging from his hand, and lightning struck the Desian general. He yelled in agony as electricity pumped through his veins. "The mere fact that an inferior being escaped is enough to make him pay." He said menacingly, still sending lightning through his arm, "I will not let another filthy human escape from this facility. The last time caused me to lose the project that would have lead me to a rank far above the Desians." The level of electricity seemed to double as he said this. "I will not allow another human to threaten my destiny of greatness! Besides, that city has become far too large for being so near my ranch, and we could always use more experiments." He laughed cruelly. The Desian had stopped screaming; he was dead. "You!" he said pointing to the nearest Desian, "You are now in charge, I assume you now know the penalty for not following my demands instantly?"

"Yes, sir!" he said quickly.

"Good. Now, proceed our forces to Luin. Either kill, or capture anyone you meet."

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Lloyd had just arrived outside of Luin as he dismounted Noishe, "Stay here, Noishe." He said, "I'll be back in a minute." And he rushed into the large city. It was when he was heading straight to his first stop where he noticed something peculiar. There were many small children, who seemed to be looking round the sides of the nearby houses, or in the tall grass, he even noticed one sticking their head out of a barrel that should have been containing fruit.

It was then he heard a familiar voice, "Ha! Found you!"

"Your gonna have to catch me!" then came the voice of a small child.

Suddenly, a small boy came rushing round the corner that Lloyd was about to reach, and ran directly at him. Before he could do anything about it however, the boy seemed to dive under his legs, and then charged off again. It was then a much larger body came running round the corner, and ran straight into him.

Lloyd fell backwards, with the person landing on top of him. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I really…" but the person stopped as they saw who they bumped into.

Lloyd eyes widened as he to realised who it was; the purple clad assassin who was trying to kill Colette. They both stayed still, as if waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Um, Sheena?" it was the small boy whom she was chasing. "Are you alright?" It was then that both warriors realised their current position.

"Sorry." She said, blushing slightly, as she stood up. She held out her hand to help him up.

"Don't worry about it, Sheena." He replied, taking her hand.

"Oh," started the boy, noticing the guy in red knew her name, "are you Sheena's friend?"

Lloyd looked at the boy, then up to Sheena. Her face seemed to contain a bit of fear at how he would respond. "Yeah," he answered, "Yeah, we're friends." Sheena stared at him in surprise, but then smiled in appreciation. She didn't want these kids to know she was a killer.

"Do you wanna play with us too?" the boy then asked, a huge smile etched on his face, "Sheena's really good at this game, maybe you can beat her."

"I'd like to, I really would," and Sheena stared at him harder, he sounded serious about this, "but I'm afraid another one of my friends is ill. I've come to get supplies to help her and I need to do it as fast as I can." He saw the look of sadness that fell on the boy, "Don't worry, I'll come and play with you guys next time."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I promise." He then looked back at Sheena, "I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah," she replied, "See you."

"Come on, Sheena." The boy tugged at her arm, "Let's go find the others." But before they could go anywhere, a loud wine came from behind them.

"Noishe?" asked Lloyd, confused.

"Wow!" exclaimed the boy, "How cool!"

"Noishe, I thought I told you to wait outside. You know you're not allowed in the city."

But the creature whined loudly, trying to tell his master something important. Suddenly, a high pitched voice called out, "Sheena!" a small fox like creature appeared out of nowhere.

The boy was ecstatic, "Wow! What cool pets!" even some of the other children emerged from there hiding places for a better view of the two creatures.

"What is it, Corrine?" asked Sheena.

"Sheena, Desians, hundreds of them! They're getting closer, they're coming to attack!"

"What!" yelled Lloyd and Sheena together. They looked at each other, and nodded.

Sheena turned to the children who had gathered around to see the two creatures, "Go to your families. Tell them that the bad men are coming." None of them answered as they ran in what seemed like random directions. She then turned to Lloyd, "We need to evacuate this city."

Lloyd jumped onto Noishe, "Hop on!" she hesitated for a minute, "Listen, right now we are not enemies. We need to warn the mayor." She nodded and jumped on behind him. "Hold on." And Noishe ran as fast as he could in the direction of the mayor's house.

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"Are you certain of this?" asked the mayor, utterly shocked at what the two warriors just told him.

"Yes," Sheena replied simply, "they should reach Luin's eastern bridge within minutes."

"Daddy, we need to go!" exclaimed the little girl stood next to the mayor, clutching his hand like a lifeline.

"Very well, I will inform our army to advance to that entrance." He let go of his daughter's hand, and unlocked a nearby cupboard. Inside was an impressive piece of armour, including a sword and shield. "Please, take my daughter and alert the rest of the city to escape using the western bridge."

"Daddy, no!" but he cut across her.

"Listen, Luin is my responsibility. It is my job to protect it, to protect you. Now please, leave the city; stay safe." She nodded, tears flowing from her eyes. "Good girl." He turned to Lloyd and Sheena, "By the look in your eyes I'm assuming you're fighting too?" they nodded. "Then I will meet you on the battlefield." And without another word, without a glance back, he left the house, and headed towards the eastern bridge.

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Screams could be heard everywhere, the evacuation process was not going as calmly and smoothly as they expected. Firstly, many people believed that the two were making a very bad practical joke; the Desians had no reason to attack the village. It was only when they saw the small army assembling at the bridge, and the owner of the local inn, who was on the upper floor saw a red ocean heading towards them, that they started to flee.

"Quickly!" shouted Lloyd, "Head towards the western bridge! Run as far as you can, but stay as a group!" and he headed towards the eastern bridge, towards the frontline. He stood next to Sheena, and drew his swords. "Damn those Desians!" he said aloud. "Why are they attacking this city?"

Sheena did not answer, she had an idea, but wasn't willing to say it. She looked around at the small army Luin possessed. They all had their weapons drawn, but many, if not all were shaking in fear, the only steady hands were those of Lloyd, Sheena, and the mayor. She then looked towards the slowly advancing army of Desians. Even at this distance she could tell they outnumbered them by a large magnitude. She whispered to Lloyd, "We won't be able to win with this army, they're too scared." Lloyd growled in his throat, she was right.

"Listen up!" said the mayor loudly, "It is obvious that we won't stand a chance against this assault." He sighed, "It is clear that Luin, is regrettably doomed. If any of you want to leave now, do so, help evacuate the rest of the city, and leave. We don't need any unnecessary blood spilled."

Before long, over half of the small army had retreated to the other end of the city, some dropping their weapons as they fled, but a few, brave soldiers remained to fight by their side. Here were the true defenders of Luin; the few brave men staying to fight against un-measurable odds.

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The General raised his hand to stop the army, he was looking through a telescope, and saw a small number of people, all fitting some armour. He laughed, "It appears they noticed us coming much sooner than intended. It doesn't matter." He then raised a small device to his mouth, "Ambush unit! Prepare to attack on site, remember, Lord Kvar wants some filthy humans alive to use in the ranch." He then raised the telescope again, to look once more, at the great city of Luin's pitiful resistance. He stared closely at the two in the middle, one was wearing red, and had brown spiky hair, with two swords, the other was purple, with long black hair, and appeared to be holding cards. He raised the device again, "Lord Kvar, we have run into a very small resistance…"

"Then annihilate them, you fool!" came the voice of Kvar, before he could continue, "Show them what it means to stand up against those superior to them!"

"But sir! I have a confirmed sighting that one of them is Lloyd Irving…"

"WHAT! Bring him to me, alive!"

"Yes, sir! And I have reason to believe another is the assassin from Tethe'Alla whom the Renegades assigned to kill the Chosen."

"I have no interest in her, just make sure you capture Lloyd!"

"Yes, sir!" He then raised his voice to address his army, "We have orders to destroy that pathetic resistance, and their precious city! However, DO NOT kill the warriors dressed in red and purple clothing! Lord Kvar wishes to address them in person." He grinned, if Kvar didn't want the girl, he could always have some fun. "Spell casters ready! Fire!" Immediately, a dozen Desian wizards moved to the front and began to chant. Fireballs started to appear and fly towards the city.

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The remaining number of soldiers stood their ground, all curious to why the Desians stopped their approach, not advancing or retreating, just stood there, as if trying to throw them off their nerve. Suddenly, there were fireballs, many, many fireballs charging towards them, if they were not careful these alone would finish them off.

Both Lloyd and Sheena ran forward slightly to the very front. They raised their defences, and two green barriers appeared around them. None of the fireballs could pass through the barriers, keeping all the soldiers behind them out of harms way. However, some of the fireballs were headed towards the houses of the outskirts, and all the pair could do, was watch, horror stricken, as the houses caught on fire. Then they heard yells. They turned back, to see all the Desians charging, swords, maces, axes, and who knows what else. The shear number of them made it seem like a red tsunami was about to strike. It was this fact that showed just how doomed they were, and the slowly rising temperature behind them just made the feeling worse; the city was falling before their enemies were upon them.

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"I wonder what's keeping Lloyd so long?" asked the small boy, "With Noishe, he should've been back by now."

Kratos growled in his throat. He knew something would have distracted Lloyd, he was too much like a child. Suddenly, a slow groan came from behind him.

"Colette!" exclaimed Genis, "You're awake!"

"How are you feeling?" asked Raine.

"I'm…okay." She replied, but as she tried to stand up, she fell back again, breathing heavily.

"Easy, Colette. You're still weak from what happened."

"We will wait another hour so the Chosen can fully recover," said Kratos, "if Lloyd has not returned by then we will head to Luin on our own."

It was then that Colette realised the missing member of their group, "Where is Lloyd?"

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The battle had begun, and already the resistance was fairing badly. They had been forced back into the burning city, as the Desians onslaught continued. They had already kill two of the members, and although Lloyd, Sheena, and even the mayor had killed at least a dozen each, it was an insignificant number when compared to the total number of the enemy.

"Damn! You! Bastards!" Lloyd was shouting, as he slashed Desian after Desian, watching helplessly as the houses burned to the ground. He looked over at Sheena, who was too fighting ferociously against them, striking down enemies with apparent ease. He then looked towards the mayor, who was struggling more than the two, but still holding his own, he could not help but smile on seeing how much he cares for this city.

"Lloyd!" shouted Sheena, "Attack the side of the inn!"

"What? We're supposed to protect Luin, not help destroy it!"

"Lloyd, just trust me!"

"Do it, Lloyd!" came the voice of the mayor. "If she has a plan them follow it!"

Out of pure anger her slashed the closest Desian to him, before sending a wave of energy directly at the inn. The blast took a sizeable chunk out of its side, and the burning building began to crumble under its strain. It collapsed, crushing all the Desians nearby, and blocking the path for those still entering the city.

The collapsing of the building had caught the remaining Desians off guard, which all the warriors took advantage of, as they finished off those in their side of the fallen inn. "That should hold them for a while." Explained Sheena, but before Lloyd could congratulate her on a great plan, she crouched in pain.

"Sheena!" yelled Lloyd. "What's wrong?" he noticed blood staining her clothing. He reached into his pocket to find the only remaining healing gel he had leftover from releasing the seal. "Let me see your wound." He said, half-asking, half-demanding. She looked up at him in shock, why was he helping her? Why did he care about her? "Sheena, please." She gave in, as she untied her pink bow around her waist, and pulled off her kimono. She was thinking that Lloyd may take the time to ogle her body whilst he had the chance, but he did not. As soon as he saw the wound he applied the gel as thoroughly as he could. He then tore some fabric from his shirt, and tied it around her waist; covering the wound up. "There." He said simply.

"Thank you." She said, as she hastened to put her clothes back on. "But, why are you worried about helping me?"

Lloyd looked at her, "Because I refuse to believe that we are really enemies. You don't want to kill Colette. You had many chances to whilst we were fighting."

"But…"

"And look, because of you we were able to save the lives of this city. Because of your pet fox thing."

"Hey! Who are you calling a pet?" the little fox-like creature had appeared in a puff of smoke. "Are you okay, Sheena?"

"I'm fine, Corrine." She replied "Thanks to Lloyd."

"Sheena, they're breaking through that building quite quickly. They'll be here anytime soon."

"Then it is here we make our last stand." Stated the mayor, "We pray, Martel that we gave the citizens enough time to escape." And then a loud scream came from behind them. They all turned to see the small boy whom Sheena was playing with earlier, tears in his eyes as a single Desian chased after him.

The boy tripped, and the Desian towered over him, raising his sword to strike, "NO!" yelled Sheena, as she charged the Desian with all her might. She kicked the sword out of his hand, then placed a card in the centre of his chest, sending him flying backwards. It then exploded. "Are you okay?" she asked the poor boy.

He simply cried louder, "How did a Desian get passed us?" asked Lloyd.

"They've…got…mommy…and…daddy!" the child sobbed.

"What!" How?" the mayor demanded, fear flowing through his body.

"We...were…running…and then…they…appeared." He sobbed louder, unable to speak anymore. Sheena hugged him in an attempt to calm him down.

"They must've assumed we'd try to evacuate and set an ambush on ahead." Said Sheena. "Damn them."

Anger started to pulse through Lloyd like never before. All of their work to save the people of Luin, to save as much of the city itself as they could, and the Desians ruined it all. He thought of Noishe, whom he had sent with the people so he would be safe, what would they do to him? They could now hear the voices of the Desians as they forced their way through the remains of the inn.

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Genis was starting to get worried; it wasn't like Lloyd to do something like this, not when one of his friends was in need of help. He decided to go out of the area in which they had made camp, to see if he could see a glimpse of Noishe in the distance, with a red clad swordsman on his back. But what he saw made his heart drop; what the trees had been covering, he could now see. Smoke. Thick smoke. Coming from the direction of… "Raine! Kratos!"

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"Stay behind me, okay?" said Sheena, as she let go of the small boy. The Desians had just broken through, slowly flowing through the small gap they had made. She then saw a feint glow coming from Lloyd's hand…his exsphere.

Lloyd roared in anger, and smashed both his swords down on the ground in front of him, and a large wave of energy launched itself at the Desians. The smiles on their faces were instantly replaced by fear, as they tried to get out of the wave's path. It ploughed through the army of Desians, killing all in its path. The remaining members of the resistance stared at Lloyd, in awe of the power that he wielded. He staggered slightly, realising just how much mana he had used for that attack. It had succeed in taking out over half of the remaining Desians, but he might now be too weak to fight off those who had started to advance after the wave had stopped.

"Very impressive." Came a voice from the mass. What seemed like their leader for this assault had moved to the front, and began to address them, "Maybe that's why Lord Kvar wants you so badly."

"What do you mean?" demanded Lloyd.

"The ruler of this area, Lord Kvar, has a much greater interest in you than the other Grand Cardinals. He wants to see you very badly."

"You mean, I'm the reason you attacked Luin?" Lloyd was horror-struck, had the Desians seen him headed towards Luin, and decided to try and capture him.

"Actually we were looking for someone else, you were merely an added bonus if you will. No, we are actually looking for a man named Pietro, he escaped our facility and we would like to take him back." Sheena gasped, which couldn't help but be noticed by him, "However, he was not in the group our ambush party captured, and he appears to not be with the dead. I assume you know where he is." He looked over at Sheena.

"Like I'd ever tell you where he is!" she screeched, trying to hide the terror she felt about being the cause of their attack.

"Well, that is a shame. I'd hate to see the results of your beautiful body after we torture the information out of you." Lloyd roared in anger again, as he smashed his sword against the ground again. A much smaller wave of energy emerged this time, which the general easily dodged, and let it kill the two behind him. "Running low on power are we? Then let us end it." He raised his voice, "Cease them!" he then eyed the other members of the resistance, "Kill the rest!" and once again the Desians charged at them.

Lloyd was slashing wildly, he was not going to last much longer, he screamed as one of them slashed his arm, making him drop one of his swords. He struck that Desian down, only to have another slash at his back. He was in agony as he fell to one knee, still trying to strike down anyone who neared him. He looked over to Sheena, amazingly, she had not moved from her spot. She was determined to protect the child as if it were her own. She used her cards to slash any Desian who got near. She screamed, one of them managed to get through her assault and strike through her leg. She too fell to one knee, as she turned to face him and he saw the look of sadness of her eyes, of being unable to help the city.

"Get! Out! Of! My! City!" shouted the mayor, as he killed Desian after Desian after Desian. He made his way through to Sheena, to help protect the child. The sight of this brought new life to both Lloyd and Sheena; he had not given up hope and neither should they. They both stood up, forcing their way through the pain, and resumed fighting.

The Desians were scared, how were these three warriors defeating their army. The general walked towards the mayor, drawing his sword, wearing a smile mixed with hate and evil. The mayor was still striking down all those who were near him, and did not noticed his doom approaching. The general attacked, and the mayor looked down, to see a blooden sword sticking out of his chest. He dropped his sword, which made a loud clung on the floor, which, even over the roar of the battle, both Sheena and Lloyd heard.

"NO!" cried Lloyd and he sent another wave of energy towards the general. He dodged it again, and disappeared from site. Lloyd slashed everyone who was near him as he forced himself to the mayor. He caught him, and slowly eased him down.

"Please." He stuttered, "Please, save my people…save them from the ranch." And the life left his eyes.

Lloyd growled in his throat, "I promise you, I will save them all."

"That may prove hard to do," came the general's voice, "When you're stuck there yourself."

"Why you bastard!" he turned to face him, ready to charge and get revenge for his fallen comrade, but the sight that caught his eyes made him freeze in fear. "Sheena!"

Somehow, he had managed to sneak up on her, and grab her around the waist, pinning her arms down, and had his still bloody sword to her throat. "Yes I have your precious friend here," he sneered, "and if you want her to live I suggest that you surrender."

Although she would never admit it, Sheena was scared. She knew she was about to die. Lloyd wouldn't save her, he would take this opportunity to stop her assassination attempts.

"O-okay." He replied, dropping his only sword.

He laughed, "Good." But before he could make any commands to what remained of his army, he screamed in pain. The small boy had run over and kicked him in the shin. He released Sheena out of shock, "You little brat!" Quick as a flash, Lloyd had picked up hi sword and charged the general, thrusting his sword through his chest.

"That!" he said bitterly, "Was for Luin." And he pulled back his sword, "And all its citizens." And the general collapsed in a heap…dead.

The remaining Desians stared in shock. There were now only a couple dozen of them left, and their leader had been defeated. They looked towards the two remaining warriors, and saw that both were incredibly worn out, each now fallen down to one knee. They slowly edged towards them, their swords at the ready.

"No!" came a voice. The little boy had picked up one of the discarded swords from the ground, and stood between them and the two warriors. "I won't let you hurt them!"

They all laughed, the boy could barely hold the sword properly, let alone use it. "Run." Grunted Lloyd, trying, and failing to get back up. "Get away from them. Save yourself." But the boy stood his ground.

The Desians moved closer to the boy, and then one lunged at him. "No!" Sheena yelled, and suddenly a large, lizard-like creature appeared from nowhere, and struck down the Desian. It hovered slightly in front of the boy, protecting him. It roared and slashed its claws, sending a powerful gust of wind at the remaining soldiers. The wind was so powerful, gashes started to appear all over their bodies, and their swords snapped cleanly in two. The creature then charged, and killed all of them with a fatal swipe of its claws. It was over.

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It was a horrible sight, as the Chosen's group walked through the once beautiful city of Luin. Buildings had been knocked to the ground, and those that weren't were on fire. Bodies were lined everywhere, mostly Desians, but they made out some who were clearly from Luin. They were praying that none of these belonged to Lloyd.

"Genis," started Raine, trying not to show fear in her voice, "try and, put out the rest of these fires."

Without even answering, he raised his kendama, and water flowed from it, putting out any fire that they passed. There was still no sign of Lloyd. It was then, they passed a small house, with the front and the roof completely gone, where they saw a surprising, but relieving sight.

"Lloyd!" squealed Colette, she rushed forwards, but Kratos held up his arm to stop her.

"It's her." He stated, for it wasn't just Lloyd, he was huddled in the corner, with the woman who had tried to assassinate the Chosen.

"But, why would they be together?" puzzled Genis, "I mean, if she's trying to kill Colette, wouldn't she be fighting with the Desians?"

"By the looks of it they just survived this battle." Said Raine, looking at all the wounds the two had, "And I think they somehow helped each other to get here." She pointed to the small droplets of blood that trailed every now and then across the floor.

Kratos unsheathed his blade, and slowly walked towards them. "Wait, Kratos!" said Colette, "Shouldn't we wait and asked what happened?"

"Chosen One, she is trying to kill you and us. We should finish her whilst we have the chance." He argued.

"But…" but before she could fight back, the sound of small running footsteps was heard, and a small child pushed his way through the group, and put himself between them, and the two unconscious heroes.

"No!" he screeched, "I won't let you harm them! They saved me, tried to save all of us!"

They were all shocked at this boy's sudden appearance, even more so that he was protecting the two injured warriors. "Calm down, young one." Started Raine, "No-one here is gonna hurt anyone." She looked over to Kratos, "Are we, Kratos?" Everyone stared at him.

"Very well." He sighed, as he sheathed his sword.

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Lloyd woke up to find himself under the stars, and felt warm over him. He looked down and saw that a blanket covered him. It was then he realised that he was not in as much pain as when he fell asleep, someone had healed him. He turned his head to the side, and saw Sheena lying next to him still asleep, also covered by a blanket. Someone must've found them in Luin and saved them, but who?

He sat up quickly, and then his head started to spin and his eyes went out of focus. "Lloyd!" shrieked a familiar voice, and someone hugged him. Once his eyes were able to re-focus, he looked at who was hugging him.

"Colette?" he asked curiously.

"Glad to see you up, Lloyd." Came another familiar voice.

"Genis!" he exclaimed looking up, "Man, am I glad to see you guys."

"I hope you realise," came the stern voice of Raine, "how worried you had us when we saw the smoke coming from Luin." But she wore a relieved, and happy smile.

Lloyd chuckled, and then looked over to the other member of the group. Kratos, however, had not looked over at him, or made any signs of relief that he had awoken. He was staring at Sheena, a hand on his sword's handle, as if she were about to jump up and attack an second.

Lloyd then looked back to Sheena, "Is she gonna be okay?" he asked, concerned.

"She should be." Stated Raine, simply, "But I will need to ask why we found you two together."

"I'm surprised you guys didn't finish her off." He replied, though he was only regarding the mercenary.

"That was my intention, Lloyd." This was the first thing Kratos had said since they had been talking. "However, my decision seemed to be rejected, thanks to your little friend there." He pointed to the other side of Sheena, where Lloyd saw the little boy who managed to get away from the Desians, blissfully asleep.

"So what did happen, Lloyd?" asked Colette curiously.

"Yeah," added Genis, "we thought you might be hurt when we saw he smoke, and feared the worst when we saw what happened to the city."

Lloyd growled in his throat, "Those damn Desians attacked!" he said, almost shouting in anger. "Thanks to Sheena we saw them coming, and tried to evacuate the city before their forces arrived. But whilst we were holding them back, they had an ambush party waiting; they knew we would try to evacuate. Most of them have been captured and taken to the Desian Ranch." He looked over at Sheena, who was still sleeping peacefully, "We were the only ones that fought who survived their attack. But if she didn't use one of her guardians, we would have perished too."

"I'm sorry, one of her what?" asked Genis.

"That's what she calls those things she summoned when she fought us; they're apparently the guardians of her village. She told me when we were finding shelter." He explained.

It was then a small moan, which indicated that Sheena had woken up at last, "What happened?" she asked, holing her head as she sat up.

Immediately, Kratos drew his sword, and pointed it towards her, inches away from her face. She gasped. "Kratos, no!" somehow, Lloyd was able to force himself up. He could not see his swords anywhere, but Colette was still next to his. He drew one of her chakrams from her back and used it to push away Kratos sword. He glared at him, he may not know how to properly use Colette's weapon, but he would use it anyway he could to defend Sheena.

Everyone was speechless, just staring at the two swordsmen, who were glaring daggers at each other. "I just told you she tried to help save Luin, and you still don't trust her."

"Saving one city does not prove she does not want to kill the Chosen." He answered.

"Umm, actually." Came the voice of Sheena, she had just recovered from the shock at Kratos' threat, "I owe Lloyd my life, and I won't do anything to hurt him or his friends anymore."

"How can we trust you on this?"

"Because that's not the only reason. Lloyd and I made a promise to the mayor, just before he died. We promised him we'd save all those poor people the Desians captured. But we can't do it alone. We need your help."

Kratos growled in his own throat, "That is out of the question; that is too foolish an action that would put the Chosen in harms way."

"How did I know that would be your response?" shouted Lloyd, "We made a promise to him, we owe it to the people of Luin to save them! We were the ones who caused the Desians to attack!"

There was silence after this statement, "It's true," said Sheena, "I helped save one of the ranch's captives to escape, and I hid him, and they were after Lloyd because of his exsphere. They attacked and killed so many just to capture us." Tears started to fall from her eyes.

"Well then it is your responsibility, not the Chosen's." but before he could argue anymore.

"Of course we'll help you." Smiled Colette, "We'll help save them."

"Really?" she asked, half-surprised, half-happy.

"Chosen One, I beg you to reconsider." Urged Kratos. "It is much too dangerous."

"The Chosen's path is full of dangers," Colette, answered, with a determined look on her face, "besides, how can I save the would if I can't save one city." She looked towards Lloyd and Sheena, "We need to help our new friend."

Sheena smiled, 'Friends.' She thought, happily. "Thank you, Chosen."

"Please, just call me Colette."

"Thank you, Colette." She then looked up to Lloyd, who was still standing between her and Kratos, "Thank you, Lloyd." She whispered. She heard the sound of a sword being sheathed, and Lloyd sat down, dropping Colette's chakram.

He shuffled himself backwards, so he was sat next to Sheena, "We should take the kid to Hima, you know with that Pietro guy."

She looked over at the sleeping boy, "That's a good idea, he'll be safe there." She then yawned, although she must have been unconscious for hours, she felt exhausted.

"You should get some rest." Said Raine, "Both of you!" she added, pointing at Lloyd as well.

Lloyd shuffled him self sidewards again, so he was back next to his blanket, and pulled it over him. He wasn't overly sure whether he trusted Kratos to not harm Sheena, but he did trust Colette and Genis to stop him if he tried. He edged slightly closer to Sheena again; just in case.

He looked over towards Sheena, who still bore a worried expression, "Hey," he said reaching an arm out towards her, "we'll save them, all of them."

She smiled warmly, "Thanks, Lloyd." And she found her own hand meeting his, and she felt even more calmed when he squeezed her hand. She closed her eyes, and soon fell asleep.

Kratos stared at the two. 'So they've fallen for each other, even if they don't know it yet. I guess I have no choice, I'm gonna have to let her live. I can't make Lloyd go through what I did.' He looked to his right, in the direction of the Desian Ranch. 'Get ready, Kvar. It's finally time for you to pay for what you did to Anna.'

* * *

And there you go. Hope you enjoyed. I may make a sequel to show the battle in the ranch but I'm not sure yet. 


	2. Saviours of Luin

And here it is at last; the second part of the story. I'm sorry it took so long, my time available to do this has plummeted in the last year; I was planning at one point to have it done by New Year. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

_Lloyd watched in awe at the beast in front of him, as it finished the remainder of the Desians, almost effortlessly. It then glided towards the injured warriors, and made a movement that was unmistakably a bow towards Sheena._

"_Thank you." She whispered, and Lloyd saw a small tear roll down her cheek, as the beast disappeared. She looked over to him and smiled, almost apologetically. He smiled back and gave her a thumbs up with a shaking a hand._

_They stared at each other for a few minutes, before the small boy interrupted them. "Are you guys ok?" he asked, obviously trying to keep his voice steady._

"_Sure we are, kid." Replied Lloyd, smiling,_

"_Yeah, thanks for trying to protect us." Added Sheena. Both watched as the kid's eyes wandered across the burning ruins of his home, tears starting to fall down his cheeks._

"_We need to find some shelter," started Lloyd, trying to use his remaining sword to force himself up, "in case more Desians show." He had finally got into a standing position, and slowly made his way to Sheena, who was still having difficulties standing up, dripping a trail of blood droplets as he went. _

_He leant over, in an attempt to help her up, only to fall back down to the ground next to her. If it weren't for the certain circumstances, everyone in the area would have laughed at this sight. "I guess we're gonna have to help each other out here, huh?" stated Sheena, as she watched Lloyd roll over onto his back._

_It took quite a few minutes for them both to stand as best they could; it had taken help from each other, the boy, and even discarded weapons to help them get up. They were now using each other as support whilst they made their way to find some shelter, each having the other's arm wrapped around them. Walking, however, still proved to be a slow and fairly painful process. "So," started Lloyd, as if trying to offer a distraction from the pain, "what was that lizard thing you summoned?"_

"_It's one of the Guardians that protect my village." She replied, "I was given them to help me on my mission."_

_Lloyd was about to ask what this mission was, but then realised their relationship before the battle. He, therefore, settled for a different question, "Can I ask, why you didn't use earlier in the fight?" her face saddened, "I'm not accusing you of anything." He added quickly, "I was just…wondering."_

"_I'm…only allowed to use them in a real emergency." Then, realising how that sounded, "I'm not saying I didn't think this classed as one. Trust me, I was in a constant struggle with myself of whether or not to use it, it's just…" a tear was slowly trailing down her cheek._

"_There's another reason isn't there?" he asked, his voice full of concern, and his grip seemed to tighten slightly around her._

_She nodded, "You see…these Guardians…were given to me by my Grandfather." She tried and failed to hold back another flow of tears, "They're the only things I have left that remind me of him, and now…I'm down to the last one." She sniffed loudly, "I'm sorry…for being so selfish."_

"_Hey," he said calmly, "I don't blame you, for doing what you did. I kinda, know how you feel." He raised his hand to show her his exsphere, "This is the only thing I have left of my mother since she was killed by Desians." A few tears had appeared in his own eyes now, "I can't even imagine how it would feel if I had to give it up."_

_She stared at him in slight shock; Lloyd knew almost exactly how it felt. Before she could say anything, however, a loud crumbling noise distracted them. One of the burning buildings had finally collapsed into itself. "It's all my fault." She whimpered, and Lloyd looked at her in shock, "I helped a man named Pietro, who escaped the Human Ranch. I brought him here originally, but then took him to Hima; his home. If I hadn't done that, Luin would still be…"_

"_Don't!" interrupted Lloyd, "Don't say it's your fault, because it's not. The Desians attacked and destroyed this place, not you."_

"_But I helped Pietro and…"_

"_But you didn't rescue him from the ranch. Remember, that bastard only considered capturing you after he realised you knew him. Hell, by the sound of it they didn't even know if he was even here." Sheena made no response to this, but Lloyd kept going, "It's not like you were an idiot and deliberately provoked them into attacking the town!" he was starting to sound more like he was growling than talking._

"_Lloyd?"_

_He sighed, "My stupidity caused my home town to be destroyed. I was just trying to do the right thing."_

_Sheena found herself once more looking at Lloyd. It was so weird, only hours before they were enemies, then became comrades who protected each other, and now in the few minutes they had been talking had realised how much they had in common. Both had lost a loved one, having only a single object to remember them, both felt somewhat responsible for the attack on Luin, and both bore responsibility for the destruction of their home. "Lloyd, I caused the deaths of many people in my village, and even put my Grandfather into a coma, I know what you're feeling."_

_Lloyd stared at her in amazement, and then chuckled slightly, "Didn't this start by me comforting you, talk about role reversal."_

_Sheena could not help but laugh, "Well I guess these things happen…"_

"_When you're friends." He finished._

"_Friends?"_

"_Oh, come on!" he laughed, "You can't say that after we went through all that we aren't friends."_

"_Thanks, Lloyd."_

"_Um…guys?" came a voice. They looked down to see the young boy, his finger pointing towards the right, "I think there's as good as any to rest." They looked to see the remnants of a single floored building; it still had three walls and the majority of the roof._

"_Thanks, kid." Said Lloyd, remembering why they were walking, he had been too caught up in talking to Sheena._

"_Isn't this," began Sheena, "your…?"_

_The boy looked down, his face yet again became sad. "I'm gonna try and find some food for you guys." And without waiting for an answer, he ran towards where the main market once stood._

_Both Lloyd and Sheena sighed, they hadn't talked to him once since they began searching, and he probably needed to the most. They slowly made their way to one of the corners of the house, and eased themselves down as carefully as they could, Lloyd sill holding an arm around Sheena. "We need to save them, Lloyd." She wasn't asking, but stating, "Everyone, we just have to."_

"_Yeah, we promised him we would." Said Lloyd, and then felt her head drop to rest on his shoulders, as she finally gave into her exhaustion. He smiled, before he too fell into the bliss of sleep._

0000000

Sheena awoke to find herself in a blanket, with a small boy curled up asleep beside her. She looked around her surroundings to see the remnants of a campfire, and most of the Chosen's group, all in the midst of an apparently important discussion. The one member of the group who was missing was the only one she felt comfortable talking to, despite that the Chosen herself dubbed her as 'friend'; the red clad swordsman; Lloyd.

"Hey, Sheena!" came a voice from behind her, "I'm glad you're finally awake!" She turned around to see Lloyd, sat cross-legged, a pleased and relieved smile on his face.

"Hey, Lloyd." She replied, also smiling, "How are you feeling?"

"I feel great!" He answered, and he stood up and started to circle both shoulders and jump slightly, as if to prove his point, "The Professor's healing skills are amazing! What about you?"

Not really knowing the answer herself, she stood up and started to test her own limbs. It turned out that all the injuries she suffered from the battle were completely healed, and she felt no pain at all, "I actually feel fine, better than usual!"

"You sound surprised."

She sighed, "To be honest, yes. I'm surprised your friends actually wanted to help me at all, especially the redhead and the healer."

"Well I'm not sure about Raine," thought Lloyd, as he looked over to the rest of the group, "but Kratos definitely has a problem with it."

"Yeah, I guessed that after last night." She sighed again, remembering how Lloyd tried to protect her from the mercenary. She too stared at the group, "What are they talking about anyway?"

"I think they're making a plan on how we are going to help the people from Luin. I haven't been paying much attention, but by the sound of it, we are moving sooner rather than later." He scratched his head, in a way that if Sheena didn't know better, she would think he had no idea why they were attacking as soon as they could.

"Well that makes sense," she began, "we took out a huge number of Desians yesterday. The Ranch probably has very few soldiers in there now, so I'm guessing we're making our move before they can call for reinforcements."

"Uh…yeah," his eyes showed realisation at this point, "That's the idea."

'Did he really not know that?' she thought, but there was a more pressing question on her mind, "Lloyd?" she asked, "I never managed to ask you this earlier. When the Desians, broke through our defence, you annihilated a huge chunk of their forces with that one attack. How did you do it?"

Lloyd paused for a few seconds, "I don't know how I did it. I just…felt anger, and hatred. I wanted to stop the Desians from hurting anymore people, to ruin anymore lives, to save what was left of Luin. Then, I just did it."

Sheena hesitated, before saying, "Your exsphere, it was glowing with mana. Maybe it responded to your need and channelled your power?"

"Exspheres, don't work like that." He replied slowly, thinking through what she suggested, "They increase your fighting ability, stamina, speed, and so on, but they shouldn't be able to do what I did." At the look of surprise on her face, he added, "I was raised by a dwarf, he knows everything about exspheres."

"Oh." She answered, "Well maybe we can go ask him about it once this is all over." She suggested. He nodded, "Oh, and Lloyd?"

"Yes?"

"I never got round to thanking you."

"Hmm? For what?"

"For helping me through that fight. You healed my wound when the Inn collapsed, and you were willing to surrender so that guy wouldn't kill me." She showed signs of a light blush, "Very few people in my village would have shown me kindness like that, and yet you, my enemy, showed it without a second thought. I meant what I said last night, I owe you my life, and I will help you in anyway I can."

Lloyd had to stop for a minute to let all of this sink in, "Well, thanks." Was all he could think to say at first, "It wasn't like I wanted to watch you get hurt when I could do something about it, and to be honest, Sheena, I owe you as much. It was thanks to you that we were able to set up a defence so fast. I couldn't understand what Noishe was after, if it weren't for you and your fox friend, I would have had to walk him back to the entrance before knowing what the Desians were doing. And besides, we wouldn't have won if you weren't there to help us fight. You took out just as many as I did, you came with the plan to knock down the Inn to buy us time, and you were the one who finished them off with your Guardian." He placed a hand on Sheena's shoulder. "If it weren't for you, I would probably be stuck in that Ranch myself, or maybe even dead." He gave a wide, and caring smile, "Thank you, Sheena, for saving me, I owe you my life."

Sheena found herself yet again, just staring at her new found ally, and friend, and then, she started to laugh, "You know, you really are stubborn aren't you?"

Lloyd began to laugh as well, "Look who's talking. You were the one who refused to let me give you the attention you needed when you were hurt."

It was weird, but Sheena felt comfortable with Lloyd. He treated her better than anyone else had in her life, and seemed to genuinely care for her, which most people didn't even try to pretend that they did, they even had similar past experiences. 'No,' she thought, as both their laughter began to die, 'it can't be…can it?' She was saved from her own question by an overly calm voice.

"If you two are quite done, we believe we have a plan." It was Kratos, and he was staring at the two with his usual, expressionless face, which Lloyd still assumed was hiding unpleasant and distrusting thoughts about the current situation. What was actually going through his mind was something quite different. He had heard the pair's conversation, and although he was slightly put at ease by the assassin's admittance that she would help Lloyd, and therefore the Chosen, the sound of what Lloyd had done during the battle was unheard of.

"So, when are we busting down the gates?" Lloyd asked, interrupting his train of thoughts.

"We are doing no such reckless thing." Began Kratos, but Lloyd interrupted.

"Changed your mind already, have you?" he glared, "Decided it best to let the people remain trapped in the Ranch?"

"If you let me finish," he replied, still holding his calm expression, "we are not going to attempt an attack, until we have some idea of the layout of the Ranch. We need to be able to find the captives, rescue them, and get out with minimum resistance from the Desians. A small group will secretly enter the base and learn as much as they about the base as they can."

"With those tactics it sounds like you've done this before." Stated Sheena.

Kratos, stared at her for a second, "Indeed, as a mercenary I was hired to do many jobs, some similar to this."

"So how are we going to sneak into the Ranch in the first place?" asked Lloyd.

"You are going to let yourself be 'captured'."

Lloyd stared with wide eyes, "What?"

"The Desians are after you, correct? Then we just need to let you get captured and simply, 'forget' to take you to Kvar."

"He's the Grand Cardinal of the Ranch, right?" asked Sheena, curiously.

"Yes." He answered, and for a brief second, Sheena swore she saw a hint of malice and hatred etched in his face.

"But I still don't get it, I can't go in alone, and why wouldn't they take me straight to him?" exclaimed Lloyd.

"Isn't it obvious, Lloyd?" came the jeering voice of Genis, "Some of us will dress up as Desians and pretend to bring you in."

"Oh." Said Lloyd, realisation hitting him, "Why didn't you just say so?" Everyone in the area sighed, "So, who's going to be capturing me?"

"That entirely depends on what we can find back in Luin." Replied Kratos, "From what we saw on our way through it, most of the armour was too damaged to go unnoticed on entering the Ranch."

"Gee, sorry. Next time we're fighting for our lives and a city, we'll know to keep the enemy clean as a whistle." Sheena could not help but chuckle.

"This is no time for jokes, Lloyd. Now hurry up. We need to see what we can salvage."

0000000

Kvar was pacing up and down his control room, anger pulsating through every fibre of his body. It had been much too long for his forces to destroy Luin, even with the task of capturing Lloyd, "Fools!" he exclaimed, "How did a whole army of my soldiers be defeated by a small group of mere humans? Surely the boy has not gained control over his exsphere." He walked towards the main computer and practically smashed his fist down on the communication device, "I want someone to go to Luin and find out what happened, NOW!" he yelled.

0000000

It was horrible work, searching through all the blood stained, dismembered bodies for any passable armour to fool the Desians. What made things worse, for Lloyd and Sheena at least, were the random bodies that did not belong to a former Desian, but belonged to a former comrade, one of the few soldiers determined to help save Luin. It was also hard not to think their deaths were in vain, when all around them were destroyed buildings, as well as the thought of all those trapped people.

"Man, this is pointless!" shouted Lloyd in frustration, "None of these armours are even remotely usable. How are we supposed to get in the Ranch without them?"

"Calm yourself, Lloyd." Stated Kratos, "A solution will present itself."

But before he could even think of a retort to this, a high pitched voice came from behind them all, "Sheena!" Corrine had appeared behind them.

"Corrine!" cried Sheena, "Where have you been? I was so worried!" she had not seen her first friend since the battle.

"I was keeping an eye on the Human Ranch, I knew that you guys would try and rescue the citizens who were captured so I decided to try and sneak in."

"Were you able to?" asked Lloyd, eagerly. If he had it would make their rescue attempt that much faster.

"No." he replied, sadly. "It's a tough place, I couldn't get in."

"Don't worry, Corrine," began Sheena, "as long as you're safe."

"But there's something I need to tell you! A group of Desians are headed this way! From what I heard they are a scout party to see what happened here."

"How many are there?" asked Kratos.

The little fox jumped back slightly at this, he wasn't trustworthy of the mercenary for Sheena's sake, and wanted as little interaction with him as possible. "Three." He answered simply, "One spell caster, and two female spear soldiers."

"Perfect."

0000000

The group was in hiding, watching as the three Desians were approaching the ruins of Luin. They were getting ready to ambush them and take their armour. This would prove difficult, as they would need to resort to hand-to-hand fighting, in order to leave the armour in tact. This meant that Colette, Raine, and Genis were out of the question, leaving only Lloyd, Sheena, and Kratos to fight. Although he refused to admit it, Lloyd was slightly concerned by this thought. He had little experience in fighting without either of his swords.

The Desians had now entered the destroyed city, and were coming ever closer to their hiding spot. Lloyd was trying to psyche himself up ready for the upcoming challenge, but was failing quite miserably. Sheena had seemed to notice this by looking at his face, but before she could say anything, Kratos had yelled, "Now!" and the three jumped into the open and charged.

Each charged the Desian closest to them, leaving Kratos with the spell caster, and Lloyd and Sheena with the two spear users. Unfortunately, Lloyd was too slow on his approach, giving his opponent enough time to get into a proper guarding stance. He lunged in with his right fist, aiming for her head and hopefully, quickly knocking her out. The Desian, however, was ready for this and parried it using the pole of her spear. She then countered by using the spear's end to sweep out his feet. Lloyd fell flat on his back, looking up at his enemy. She was laughing now, and raising her spear above her head, with the blade end down, "That was pathetic." She sneered, "Too bad, you were kinda cute too." But before she could strike the final blow, Sheena had appeared behind her, grabbing the other end of her spear.

"Stay away from him!" she yelled, and she yanked the spear from her hands, before launching a kick to her left temple. The force had then sent the Desian into the remains of a house, before she fell to the floor, clearly unconscious. "You ok, Lloyd?" she asked, holding out a hand.

Lloyd was still in slight shock of what had happened, how easily he was beaten without his swords. He took her hand and pulled himself up, with her help. "Yeah, thanks, Sheena." He looked towards the fallen body of his opponent, then across to see Sheena's lying in a heap as well. She was able to take out her enemy and help him in a matter of seconds. "Wow, Sheena! You were awesome!"

Sheena barely had time to blush, before Kratos had rounded upon him, "That was a very reckless, and irresponsible thing to do, Lloyd!" he yelled, "If you were that uncomfortable and unskilled to fight without your swords then you should've told us so we could make different plans." He turned his back to Lloyd, "You could have got yourself and us killed." And walked off back to where the other members of the group were waiting.

Lloyd scowled, "Like you care about either of us."

"Hey," said Sheena, putting a hand on his shoulder, "don't worry about him. Come on, we better get ready."

0000000

"So, how do we look?" asked Raine, as she and Sheena walked out of the bushes, clad in the Desian armour they had recovered.

Kratos eyed them both, "Perfect," he answered simply, "with them you two should easily be able to make it into the base."

"Lloyd, come here." Ordered Sheena, who was holding some rope in her hands.

"Uh, ok." He replied, as he walked towards her, eyeing the rope curiously.

"Now turn around, and put your hands behind your back." He obeyed, still wandering what was going on. It was then that he felt the rope wrapping around both his wrists.

"Uh, Sheena?" he asked, "What are you doing?"

"We need to make it look as realistic as possible. I'm making a knot that will look tight to anyone who looks at them, but you can just pull your hands apart to undo it. You know, in case you need to act fast for something."

"Wow, really?" once Sheena had finished, he tried pulling his hands apart, to feel little resistance, as the ropes fell to the floor. Sheena sighed slightly, before grabbing his hands and re-tying them, only to have him pull his hands apart again, "Wow, Sheena that's cool!"

"Lloyd, if you do that again, I'm just gonna tie them properly and let you struggle too get them loose." Threatened Sheena.

Lloyd took a step away from her, and turned to look at her, "Really?" he asked, slightly fearful of her serious voice.

"Yes, now hurry up and turn around before I just tie you up completely and we'll drag you there!"

Both Genis and Colette laughed as they watched Lloyd move back to Sheena and quietly let his hands get tied, "Oh I like her." Said Genis, "Great tactics."

"Yeah," agreed Colette, "she seems to know how to deal with Lloyd. Even the Professor had trouble controlling him sometimes."

"Maybe she should take notes."

"Hey, shut up Genis!" shouted Lloyd, trying to keep his hands still whilst Sheena finished her knot.

SMACK! Raine had walked over and hit him on the head, "My teaching methods are just fine thank you." She said sternly, "I do not need notes from her!"

Sheena could not help but hear the way she said 'her'; like she was trying to avoid mentioning her at all. She pushed this to the back of her mind, however, and focused back on Lloyd, "We're gonna need to take your swords as well, Lloyd."

"How come?" he asked, he had only just managed to replace his swords from the battle, and wasn't overly keen on letting them go now, especially considering what they were about to do.

"It'll look too suspicious if you were to have them on you, even if your hands were bound." His face saddened, "Sorry, Lloyd. Don't worry, I'll hold on to them whilst…"

But Raine interrupted her, "I think it will be better if I were to hold on to them, thank you." Her voice was calm, but Sheena could not miss what she was implying.

"You don't trust me, do you?" It was more a statement than a question, as she looked directly at the elf.

"I must admit, I am still suspicious of your intentions." Replied Raine, "I have yet to see how far your _loyalty_ to Lloyd will stretch."

"I've already told you that I owe Lloyd my life. There's nothing more I can say to make you trust me." This was not the best time to have this argument.

"I trust her, Professor." Stated Lloyd, simply. "We helped each other during Luin's attack, and she saved me barely an hour ago. If nothing else, you trust me, right?"

But Raine did not answer straight away, "Fine, just remember Lloyd, your judgement is not always good. Remember Iselea."

Lloyd looked down, almost in disgust with himself, "That…was different."

"Yeah, Raine. That was a pretty low blow." Said Genis accusingly.

"It is the Chosen's decision whether to trust her or not." Kratos stated, clearly having the final say.

"Um…" started Colette, "I trust Lloyd, so if he trusts Sheena, so do I."

Sheena couldn't help but smile, it wasn't just Lloyd who trusted her, although part of her felt as if Colette would just agree with whatever Lloyd would say. She reminded her of a lesser version of Zelos' fangirls. She laughed in her head when she wondered if Colette would actually jump off a cliff if he told her to, given that she was able to fly.

"Well, now is not the time to argue anyway." Said Raine, obviously not wanting to lose this discussion. "Kratos, it's up to you to look after Colette and Genis whilst we're gone." He nodded, and the three started to walk towards the Human Ranch.

0000000

"You…you actually caught him?" asked the Desian who was on guard duty, "Lord Kvar will be pleased, he's been after that exsphere for years."

"Yes, I believe he will," said Raine, "and hopefully we'll be rewarded handsomely."

"I expect you will be." He opened the door, "Though with the survival rate of his Generals, I'm kinda glad I didn't find him."

"We'll just have to be careful then." Answered Sheena. She then forced her elbow into Lloyd's back, "Move it, scum!" she yelled, pushing him through the door.

Lloyd waited for the door to close behind them, before asking in a whisper, "Why do I think you enjoyed that?"

"That was for the trap hole at Ossa Trail." She whispered back.

"Hardly my fault."

"Quiet, you two!" hissed Raine, "Remember why we're here. Do not blow our cover." As much as Lloyd would like to make a retort, she had a point. He couldn't risk bringing attention to them, not whilst they were entering the lion's den.

They were walking through the field where the captives were forced to do hard labour, and both Lloyd and Sheena were thankful, yet concerned that they saw no-one from Luin. They were pleased that no-one would see Lloyd and risk their involvement, but the fact that no-one was there made them wonder what had actually happened to them. They finally reached the door to enter the main complex, and walked through it, unaware of the scanner above them.

0000000

After some time, they finally found a minor control room, and Raine was already accessing the computer, looking for any information that might be useful to them, when a thought occurred in Lloyd's head. "Hey, Sheena?" he asked, "How are we gonna get out? It's not like they're just gonna let me walk out."

"We will just have to steal someone's armour for you." She replied. "Don't worry, Lloyd. I've thought it through."

"You two quickly find some armour." Came Raine's voice, not looking away from the computer, "I will continue finding any information I can."

"We can't leave you on your own, Professor." Argued Lloyd.

Sheena's ears caught something, "We won't have to," stated Sheena, "someone's coming."

"What'll we do, rush him?"

"Too risky, he may set an alarm, or someone may hear the ruckus."

"So what…"

"I have an idea." She started, blushing slightly, "But…it's not something I'd usually do. I'd appreciate it if you never mention this to anyone, especially if you're ever unfortunate enough to meet a guy named Zelos Wilder."

"Uh…ok." Replied Lloyd, confused. He had no idea what she had planned. "But what exactly…"

"Just get ready to knock him out. And Lloyd," she added, "you can lose the ropes now."

Lloyd had adjusted so well to his 'binds' that he had completely forgotten about them, "Oh yeah," he said, pulling his hands apart, "thanks, Sheena."

She sighed before walking out of the room, and leaning against the door. She hated what she was about to do and hoped that Lloyd wouldn't misjudge her too badly afterwards. "Hey, big boy." She said, as soon as the Desian was in earshot, "Wanna come in here for a minute?" she asked suggestively, "Have some fun?" An excited, and slightly evil smile grew on the Desian's face, she faked a giggle, "Thought so." And she re-entered the control room, motioning him to follow with her finger. As soon as he entered, a fist collided into his face, successfully rendering him unconscious. "Thanks for acting fast there." She said to Lloyd, "I swear he was about to touch me." She gave a shiver.

"I don't get it." He said.

"What?"

"Why would you be embarrassed by simply asking him to come in here?"

"Ha ha, very funny." She answered irritably, then noticing the look on his face, "You're serious aren't you?" she stared at him amazed, 'He really doesn't have a clue.' She thought.

"Come on, why?"

'There is no way I'm gonna be the one to tell him.' She thought desperately, "Well, you know…I'm supposed to be a ninja assassin; I'm not supposed to ask nicely." This was a lame excuse, but it was all she could come up with.

To her surprise, Lloyd actually smiled, "You know you really should lose the tough guy attitude." He chuckled, "You know I can tell you're a nice person. You should stick with that, I like it."

She blushed slightly, "I'll keep that in mind." 'At least he won't judge me.' She thought, "Anyway, you should better get changed before someone else shows up."

"Sure thing, Sheena." He stood stationary for a few moments, before asking, "Do you mind turning around?"

She blushed again, "Uh, yes of course, sorry." She turned around and mumbled to herself, "Great, so he doesn't know about the birds and the bees but does know about privacy." She was surprised to hear the slight disappointment in her voice, and even more so when she caught herself trying to turn her head to catch a peek.

0000000

Kvar was getting more impatient by the minute, "That search party should have been back by now!" he yelled. Even if that brat was able to use his exsphere, he would've used almost all his mana to defeat a whole army of Desians. Surely he wouldn't be able to recover overnight. He walked towards a computer screen, and the face of a single Desian was present.

"Lord Kvar?" he said, standing to attention.

"Have you any news of that search party? My patience with them draws thin." The Desian gave no answer at first, and just stared blankly at him, "Well? Answer me you fool!"

"My apologies, Lord Kvar." He answered, almost yelling in attempt to not anger the Grand Cardinal, "But the search party returned some time ago, sir and they actually captured Lloyd Irving. I'm sure they should have at least contacted you by now."

"WHAT!" exclaimed Kvar, "Tell me, was there anything curious about them when they brought him in?"

"Well, it was only the two soldiers who returned. They did not even mention about their commanding officer."

"What about the boy himself?"

"I do not think so, sir." He tried remembering exactly what he looked like, "Wait, he didn't have any wounds on him, sir." Realisation hit him, "Sir, there may be intruders in the base, sir!"

"Damn it, you fool! Do you really think I did not suspect this?"

"No, sir!" he replied, fearing for his life at the look of absolute fury on Kvar's face. "I'll alert the guards at once!"

"You shall do no such thing at this point! I want to be fully aware of the situation first." And he slammed his fist on the button, ending the transmission. He pressed a combination of buttons, and the screen showed two Desians entering the base, a bound kid in red between them. He paused the screen, and entered another command; all three bodies turned to certain colours. The kid and one of the Desians were red, whilst the second was purple. A cruel smile appeared on his lips, "It appears as if only one of our _prisoner's _captors is half-elf, and I doubt she is one of ours." He pressed another button on the computer, and half a dozen Desian faces appeared on screen, each of their helmets coloured slightly different compared to the usual design. "My Desian Elite."

"Yes, Lord Kvar!" they answered in unison.

"It appears we have unwanted guests, I want you to track them down and corner them. I want to deal with them personally."

0000000

Lloyd had finally changed into his Desian disguise, "Man, I hate these things!" he said irritably.

Sheena turned around to stare at him, "What's wrong?" she asked "Too tight?" she gave him a quick look over, and noticed that it was easy to see parts of his physique, 'Damn it, stop looking!' she thought, once again fighting off a blush.

"It's not that," he replied, "I just can't stand looking like them! It makes me remember all the things they've done!"

Sheena walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, it's only temporary."

"I know."

"Hey, come on. We'll be out of here soon and then you can ditch the clothes." She blushed realising how she put it, "I mean…" But Lloyd began to chuckle, "What?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about trying to get Genis to torch them." He then looked over to Raine, "Hey, Professor?" he asked, "How are you doing?"

"I believe I have found the information we need," she started, "but I do not know how we are going to take the data with us. There is no sign of any output device."

Sheena walked over the computer screen, and looked at what appeared to be plans for the Human Ranch. After a couple minutes she asked, "Anything else?"

"Did you…just memorise that?" asked Raine in shock.

"Part of my training," she replied waving a hand as if it were nothing, "I need to be able to memorise any documents for use of missions."

"Wow, that's awesome, Sheena!" said Lloyd.

Raine's voice, however, turned suddenly accusatory, "Like the name, appearance, companions, and most likely route of the Chosen One?"

"Anything else?" she asked again, in a huffed voice. Raine simply pressed a button, and the screen changed to show further plans of the Ranch. Sheena, looked at the screen for another few moments, and said "Done."

"Let's go." Stated Raine, glaring at Sheena. They headed for the door, determined to retrace their steps as fast as possible, but as soon as they walked through the door, a Desian who bore blue armour faced them.

Holding up a small device at the three, he looked at the small screen and smiled evilly, "Found you!"

"Damn it!" muttered Lloyd, as he held the handles of both his swords, "You got a problem?"

"You bet I do, you filthy human!"

0000000

Lloyd, Sheena, and Raine had been forced into a room with much machinery, most of them being conveyor belts carrying large containers, the contents of which could not be seen. After the first Desian found them, he had contacted reinforcements instantly. Lloyd, of course, tried desperately to strike him down quickly in order to make a hasty retreat. This Desian, however, was different from others: he blocked and countered his attack easily, showing he was more skilled compared to a normal one.

Lloyd barely dodged this Desian's counter, cursing under his breath. They had to escape quickly before the reinforcements arrived. They did the best thing they could do; run. They tried to make it back to the entrance, but every time they did so, another of the Desian Elites, sometimes accompanied by a couple ordinary Desians, blocked their path. Sheena couldn't help but think they were being led to this room on purpose, but there wasn't much they could do: they couldn't risk fighting off the whole Desian base.

As soon as they were all in, Raine closed the door and locked it using the control panel on the wall next to it. She then used her staff to smash the panel, making it spark ferociously. "This isn't going to hold long," she started, "we need to find a way out fast."

They began scanning the room, trying to find any possibility of an exit. They could not find one, but what they did find horrified them all. Now they had a better look, they could see the large containers were emitting a slight glow. They could also see the route of the conveyor belts; the containers were released by a strange machine, and entering the machine, was another conveyor belt...carrying people. "W-What, is this?" asked Lloyd, as he watched the prisoners of the Ranch slowly enter the machine, all of whom bore sad, defeated faces, as if...as if they knew their end was near. And then Lloyd realised that a container was only released, whenever a person entered. "No..."

"Ah, I see you've discovered the wondrous use we have found for you pathetic humans." Came a loud, sneering voice. They turned to see a blue clad half elf, with white hair. Surrounding him were the greater skilled Desians, and many more of the regular ones each carrying the same variety of weapons they used in Luin. He bore no weapon, and his smile showed why; he thought he had no need for one now.

"What is this?" demanded Lloyd, rage filling him as he looked upon the man who destroyed Luin.

He laughed evilly, "Why, this is our exsphere manufacturing area. This is where all hosts that have completely fuelled the exsphere get processed in order for it to fully form."

"You...You mean...?"

"Yes, the humans' pathetic souls get pulled into the sphere to give it power."

"Exspheres...are created...from human lives?" asked Sheena, horror struck.

He laughed again, "My, my, you are all very slow on this matter aren't you? Yes, those magnificent pieces of engineering that you all use to strengthen yourselves were once a pathetic human's life." He turned to Lloyd, "For instance, your exsphere belonged to the only human subject I ever bothered to remember their actual name; Anna."

Lloyd gasped, and looked down at his exsphere, "This...was...?" he couldn't even finish.

And once more, he heard the maniacal laugher of the Grand Cardinal. "Yes, it was your mother. There are several reasons why I know her name, but mainly because she was the one who bore my masterpiece!" suddenly his voice seemed to turn angry, and sparks seemed to radiate around his fists. Some of the weaker Desians even took an involuntary step back at this. "She was the one who would lead me to greatness! The one who would show Lord Yggdrasil that I am better suited than Pronyma ever could be to lead the Grand Cardinals. She was the one who would create my Angelus Project!"

"Yggdrasil?" asked Raine, "I'm assuming that's who you report to."

Kvar seemed to calm down, "It appears I got a little carried away." He sighed "I'm afraid none of you will be able to leave here alive after that." He glared at Lloyd again, "Now, give me that gem and I will make sure you and your friends' deaths are quick!" he demanded, "And don't be so foolish as your pathetic mother was and try to run or fight. That caused her to become that stupid monster, which is a painful experience in itself, I might add, but she also forced your father to kill her."

"Y-You LIE!" exclaimed Lloyd, still looking at his mother's memento.

"No, I do not." He answered matter-of-factly, "Your father killed your mother when she turned, which caused him immeasurable grief." He smiled at this thought, as if it was one of his most cherished. "Now hand over my Angelus Project!"

"No."

"What?"

"I'll never give it to you." Lloyd was shaking; a mixture of fury, and sadness was consuming him, "Never!"

"Then you shall die last as I make you listen to your friends' suffering! Seize them!" He raised his arm, and his Desian Elites charged, followed by the normal soldiers.

Time seemed to slow as they approached, Lloyd's face rose to show his eyes glowing a deep gold, "NO!" he screamed, and slashed both his swords horizontally. Two huge waves of energy emerged from his blades, tearing their way towards the approaching army. Screams were heard, as Desian after Desian was forced flying backwards into the wall, killing most of them.

Both Sheena and Raine stared in amazement, "Just like before." Whispered Sheena. Suddenly, another scream was heard, as Lloyd was sent flying back into the wall, his helmet flying off with a loud clunk.

Kvar had managed to form a shield before either wave hit him, which protected him from most of the blow. He was gasping for air though, as if drained, pure rage and hatred was etched on his face. His arm was outstretched from his own attack. 'I see,' he thought, 'he only has some control over it. He wastes too much power instead of concentrating it into one blow.'

"Lloyd!" exclaimed Sheena, as she rushed to his aid, watching as he would randomly spasm from the lightning shot at him. She glared at Kvar, a look of hatred almost rivalling his own on her face, "Raine, look after Lloyd." It wasn't a request, more of an order, but Raine was too worried about her student to complain. As she rushed to his aid and began to cast her healing spell, Sheena stood up, and took a few steps towards Kvar, raising her cards.

Kvar actually laughed at this, "Step out the way, little girl." She did not move, "You don't really plan on fighting me do you?" but he had barely finished, when she threw one of her cards directly at his face. He shot a ball of lightning at it just before it reached him, making it explode, causing a veil of smoke to cover the two fighters. Suddenly, a small fox-like creature charged through the smoke, directly at him. Before he could even raise his guard it was upon him and tackled him hard. "A summoner? Damn, you!" he cursed, but the little fox was gone, just as a loud roar was heard. The smoke cleared to show that all three of the intruders had gone, the only remains being a small card, slowly breaking to dust on the floor. "No...NO!"

0000000

Lloyd could not remember escaping the Ranch, nor could he remember how he had sustained any injuries. The only thing he really remembered was the hatred, the sadness, as he looked up to see Desians charging towards him. Then he was outside again, with many faceless figures surrounding him. He stood up, not even listening to the words that were said to him. He began to walk, pushing away the weight on his shoulder that tried to stop him moving, he continued until he found his own reflection in the ground, and stopped...staring blankly at himself. He looked down to his hand, where the small sphere was glowing lightly.

0000000

"Is he gonna be okay?" asked a worried Colette. They had all just watched Lloyd, Sheena and Raine appear out of nowhere, with Lloyd on the floor, being healed. Then before anyone could ask what happened, Lloyd had stood up and began to walk. He had completely ignored her as she called for him, and merely brushed away the Professor's hand as she sternly told him to stay and rest. He was now standing at the edge of the lake which they camped next to, just staring downwards, and towards his hand.

"He learned a very terrible thing whilst we were trying to escape." Stated Raine, and she explained to the rest of the group how exspheres were actually made. "For Lloyd, this is a serious thing on its own. His beliefs contradict his use of an exsphere." She sighed, and Kratos lowered his head slightly, knowing what was coming, "However, he found out that his exsphere, was created using the life of his mother." Both Genis and Colette gasped.

"Then this...this is Marble's life." He looked down at his own hand, wondering if he could continue to use it.

Colette then moved as if to go to Lloyd, but Sheena raised a hand to stop her, "Let him be for now." She said.

"But..."

"Trust me, he needs time alone, just to think."

"I concur," started Kratos, before Colette could argue further, "Sheena is right, Chosen. Trying to comfort him now may just worsen matters."

Sheena, looked at him quite surprised, she had never believed that Kratos would actually agree with her, or at least never admit that he did. She then thought that maybe, he had had his own bad experience, and knew, like she did, how Lloyd was feeling to some degree. Maybe that's how he became the way he is; calm, logical, and sometimes unemotional. She looked back over to Lloyd, and hoped that he would not become like Kratos. She liked his child like nature, one of the many things she liked about him. It was then she had to use a lot of self control not to run over and hug him right now.

0000000

Hours passed, and Lloyd had not moved an inch. He had therefore, not eaten at all either, which was very unlike him, he was even still wearing his Desian disguise, minus his helmet. It was starting to get darker and colder, and the remainder of the group were now sitting around a campfire, planning their assault. Sheena had drawn out the plans she had memorised, and now Raine and Kratos were scanning the layout, trying to find any weak spot to enter. Normally, she would be glad to help, her experience would be of some use, but her mind was wandering to the thoughtful swordsman, who still remained stationary. She looked over to him once more, and noticed he was shivering slightly. Silently, she reached for his bag, and pulled out a blanket. She stood up, and began making her way towards Lloyd. No-one seemed to notice her as she walked across the camp; Raine and Kratos were still lost in the map, and Genis was teaching Colette how to cook something, obviously just to keep their own minds off Lloyd. Even the little boy was sleeping soundly. Typical how the only person who could take her mind off her worries was the person who had her worried.

She didn't try sneaking up on him, but Lloyd was failing to notice as she approached, though with what was going through his mind she shouldn't be too surprised. She gently placed the blanket over his shoulders and wrapped it around him, but he still

made no signs of acknowledgment. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and squeezed it affectionately. She then made to walk back to the campfire, but before she could take her hand off his shoulder, another hand was atop of it and squeezed back. "Lloyd?" she asked.

"I've been thinking," was all he said.

There was a slight pause, and she could not help but ask, "What about?"

"If I should use this or not?" and in his other hand laid his exsphere, his mother's life. "Without it I would be weak, useless, I wouldn't be able to protect you." She blushed, not sure if he meant her personally or the whole group. "But I'm not sure, if I would be able to use it now I know. This is my mother's life; her soul is trapped in there." Sheena looked down at her own exsphere, not knowing who hers used to be, "If I destroy it, she'll be released, won't she? She can finally rest. But then...if I break it...I won't...how will I remember her?" Tears were forming in his eyes. "I mean, you know how it feels. What would you say if you lost your Guardian?" he turned to look directly at her, and saw that her head was lowered, and tears were in her eyes too. Then, realisation hit him, and he understood how they had escaped, "You used it, didn't you." It wasn't a question, "You used it to save us." She sniffed, and nodded slowly. He felt disgusted with himself; Sheena had used her only reminder of her loved one without a second thought. He was being selfish. He slowly unsheathed one of his swords.

"Wait, Lloyd!" she almost yelled, grabbing his arm holding the sword, "I know I don't have the right to tell you what to do with it, I know it's your choice. Just think of all the good things you've done whilst using it." She pleaded, "You've saved towns from the Desians, you've destroyed one of the Human Ranches, you're trying to save your world. Your mother would be proud of what you are doing; glad she is able to help in some way."

He looked away, she had a point, he couldn't do anything like that without his exsphere, "But...I can't just let her stay this way."

"Then make a promise," and she took his hand holding his exsphere with her own, and pressured it to close, "use it until you complete your quest, and then set her free."

Lloyd turned back to face Sheena, and saw the worried look in her eyes, "Thank you, Sheena. I hope you stay to help me keep that promise. And Sheena, I'm sorry that you had to use your final Guardian. Thank you for saving us." And without another word, he embraced her in a tight hug. This took Sheena by surprise, as she blushed furiously, before returning the hug.

"So," she began, after a couple minutes silence, "you ready to return to the others?"

"Yeah, I guess so." And he pulled away, almost reluctantly, from the hug, and started walking towards the others.

Kratos looked up to see the two walking back to the group, "Lloyd," he began, once he was in earshot, "I see you have made your decision."

"Yes," he replied, "I'm going to use my exsphere, at least till we're done with our quest." His voice turned more into a growl, "But first, I'm going to get revenge on Kvar. I'm going to avenge my mother."

Expecting Kratos to complain at this rash decision, Lloyd was surprised when he said, "Very well, we will need to confront him sooner or later anyway when we rescue the citizens of Luin."

Lloyd smiled, "So what's the plan?"

"We think we have found a way in without alerting any attention," started Raine, looking towards the drawings of the Ranch, "it seems to be a way to circulate the air." She sighed, "However, from what I can tell, we should have passed it the last time we entered." She turned to Lloyd and Sheena, "Did either of you see anything like this?" They both shook their heads. "Hmm..." she became lost in her own thoughts.

"I've got an idea." Said Sheena, she concentrated, and then, "Come, Corrine!" A puff of smoke, and the small fox-like creature appeared. "Corrine, we're looking for some sort of air vent around the Ranch. Can you go and see if you can find anything?"

"No problem!" the little summon spirit replied enthusiastically, before rushing off towards the Ranch.

"And be careful!" she yelled after him, knowing that scouts would be searching nearby areas for them. She then turned to the child, who was still blissfully asleep, "What are we gonna do with him?" she asked, worriedly, "We don't have the time to take him to Hima now, and it'll take all of us to get in there and free the prisoners."

"Hmm, there is a House of Salvation not too far from here." Said Kratos, looking towards the direction of Asgard. "You'd have to leave now if you want to be back by morning."

Sheena leant down and picked up the small boy in her arms, "I'll take him; he'll be scared if he wakes up to see any of you."

"I'll go too." Said Lloyd.

"You need to rest." She glared at him, not planning on yielding.

He knew she was right, he felt as if he could fall asleep in an instant, but he couldn't let her go on her own."You're not going on your own; Desians are probably looking for us, and you won't fight so well looking after him."

"I'll go with her." There was complete silence. Kratos had stood up and picked up his equipment.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Lloyd almost yelled, he wasn't sure if Kratos could be trusted alone.

"If Desians are looking for us, no-one else here would be able to help her fight." Lloyd grunted at this, he was right. He was too tired, Genis and Raine wouldn't be much use in close combat, and there would be no way anyone, apart from himself, would let Colette go alone with Sheena.

"Fine..."

0000000

It turned out to be a very uneventful trip to the House of Salvation; no Desian was in sight, and very few monsters tried attacking them for some reason, which was very odd during the night. The boy had not woken up at all, so Sheena left him with a note saying where he was and what they were doing, so he wouldn't be worried. The Priests were welcome to look after him free of charge once they heard his situation.

They had begun walking back to where they camped, but at a much quicker pace now they were one less, when Sheena asked, "So what now," she did not look at him, "you gonna try and kill me now there's no innocent in the way?"

Kratos didn't look at her, or even slow down when he answered, "If I wanted you dead, believe me you would be, without me even waking the child." Sheena tensed slightly, but still keeping pace, "I believe the trust Lloyd has in you, I do not believe you would hurt the Chosen."

Sheena, almost stumbled at this, "W-What?" she gasped, "But you're the one who seems most alert as if I was about to attack you all."

"I am a mercenary, paid to do a specific job. In this case, guard the Chosen. I must be on the lookout for any danger. My experience tells me that we can be attacked at any time, thus I am always on my guard." 'Not to mention my punishment from Yggdrasil would be severe.' He thought.

"But I haven't given you any reason to trust me." She wasn't sure why she was arguing against her own case, "Hell, I saved us from the Ranch and Raine still doesn't trust me."

"Raine is not a trusting person, she only trusts me because she believes me to be a true mercenary." He paused, "And my personal experience also tells me you don't want to hurt Lloyd in any way."

It was this that made Sheena stop in her tracks, "What?"

Kratos turned around to face her, "I see how you two act around each other; you would protect each other till death, no matter the cost. You would do anything to make sure the other is safe and happy."

Sheena grew an involuntary flush, "B-But..." how could he keep his face and voice so calm at talking about this.

"It also means I can't kill you; I refuse to make Lloyd go through the pain he would experience of losing you." Sheena blushed further, "I believe you will have to make a choice soon of what to do; protect or kill; Lloyd or whoever hired you as an assassin. Do not make me regret this decision." He turned and began walking again.

Sheena stayed still in thought, he was right. She would have to eventually choose between Lloyd and Tethe'Alla; her home...or the only person to care for her.

0000000

Dawn had broken, and light had reached the Chosen's camp. Raine was awake, contemplating on recent events. Lloyd was getting really close to Sheena, were they too close? Was this her plan? To gain their trust? She seemed really determined to save Luin, why would she risk her life to help the town and Lloyd. Without Lloyd, she would have one less enemy to deal with, and the whole world would be doomed if Colette failed anyway. Sheena also saved them all back in the Ranch, she could have easily just saved herself and left them to die without being seen as the bad guy; that would be two less enemies, one of which being the main healer. She didn't know what to do, but she couldn't risk Colette's safety, even if Lloyd was against her.

She turned, to see two dark figures walking towards them in the distance, "He was right, by morning." She was constantly amazed at Kratos' experience and capabilities in these terms. She was also wondering if he would be returning with or without Sheena. She had the thought that Lloyd's suspicion was right and he would kill her whilst no-one...Lloyd...could stop him. She was also in slight hope that he would return alone. She turned to Lloyd; he was still asleep, but he was joined by the little creature that belonged to Sheena. It had returned a few hours after they had left, but refused to talk to anyone but Lloyd or Sheena. As Sheena was gone, and Lloyd was fast asleep barely an hour after they left, it had just curled up and fell asleep next to him. That had placed another argument in her head, even Sheena's pet(?) now got on well and trusted Lloyd. She also could not help wondering what the creature was; she had never seen anything like it before, much like Noishe.

She turned to the others in her group, Genis was also fast asleep. He didn't seem to believe anything was wrong with trusting Sheena after she saved her life. She looked to Colette, who was feigning sleep. She knew what the angel transformation meant for Colette, but also knew it must be...for the world's sake. Colette seemed to trust Sheena, but only because she trusted Lloyd. She would do anything for him, follow him without conflict, and it had already put her into trouble before hand. It was very tempting for the whole village to refuse Lloyd and Colette to be friends, but due to the fate of the Chosen, they felt she should be happy in the life she has.

"Greetings," came a voice, she must have been thinking longer than she realised, Kratos and Sheena had reached the camp, "any problems whilst we were gone?" he asked.

"No," she answered, "everyone's been asleep since you were gone." She looked to Sheena, who appeared to be lost in thought, "Your...thing returned by the way."

Sheena looked up in confusion, before realising what she meant. She looked to Lloyd, and smiled at the sight of Corrine curled up with him. She walked over to the pair, and sat next to them. She began stroking the spirit's fur, and had to resist the powerful urge to do the same with Lloyd's hair. How had this happened? How did she fall for someone whom she was sent to kill, and what was she supposed to do now?

Upon feeling the gentle touch of his summoner, Corrine stirred and woke up, "Sheena!" he squealed, "You could have told me you weren't gonna hang about after sending me off to scout the Ranch."

"Sorry, Corrine." She said, knowing the little creature wasn't actually angry with her, "It was an afterthought once you had left." She smiled, "But I'm glad to see you found someone else to curl up next to."

"Yeah, well if you can trust him, I can." She didn't fail to notice the sly smile on his face, however.

Before she was able to respond, Lloyd began to stir from the noise, "What...?" he asked groggily, "Oh, hey Sheena."

"Good morning, Lloyd." She replied, stifling a yawn. "Had a good rest?"

"Yeah, I really needed it," he chuckled, sitting himself up, "and by the looks of it so do you."

Before she could answer, Kratos had walked over to them, "We will have a couple more hours rest before we move out." He said, "I suggest you get some more sleep during this time."

"Right." They said in unison. Kratos nodded and walked away. Lloyd wanted to ask her if Kratos tried or said anything to her, but knew that she needed to get some rest. Besides, she seemed okay; nothing obviously wrong with her or anything, so Kratos can't have done anything terrible.

This thought in mind, he lay back down, "Well, goodnight Sheena." And he closed his eyes, easily falling back to sleep.

Sheena was still lost in thought of what to do when it came to the last Seal. She stared at Lloyd and imagined the look on his face if she killed Colette; hatred, betrayal, hurt. Small tears started to well in her eyes, "Goodnight Lloyd." She whispered, and laid herself down next to him, before she too fell asleep.

Raine stared as she watched Sheena laid herself so close to Lloyd, but any thoughts were brushed away when Kratos said, "Rest, Raine. You need to as well." When she did not even move her head, he added "Don't worry, you can trust her."

Raine looked up in shock, "Surely you of all people wouldn't even suggest trusting someone like her?" she asked in amazement.

"From my experience, I can tell she is indeed loyal to Lloyd, therefore we can assume she would not do anything to harm him." He stared at her, his face still as calm as ever, "Sleep, Raine." And he walked over to where the Chosen 'slept' and sat down cross legged, his eyes shut.

0000000

"So, Corrine?" asked Sheena, "Did you find anything?" It was now late morning, and the group were wide awake and ready for their upcoming task.

"Well," began the little summon spirit, "I found the air vent you were on about..." everyone present could sense the oncoming 'but', "...but there's a huge boulder blocking the way. I tried moving it but it won't budge."

"Damn," said Lloyd, "that was our best bet in."

"Do not rule it out just yet." Stated Kratos, "I believe the Chosen One may be able to help us."

"Me?" asked Colette, confused as to how she would help. "What could I do?"

"Your angelic abilities have also granted you superior strength I believe."

"Umm...yeah, I think so."

"I believe that you may be able to move said obstacle from our path."

Colette stood and thought for a second, "Sure, I'll be glad to help."

0000000

The group was moving slowly and carefully towards the Ranch. There were many search parties after them and they had to be careful about facing them in battle. Not only did they need to save their energy, but they were trying to sneak into the base. If the scout parties had to check in at scheduled times, which Kratos said was likely for Kvar, a missing group may arouse suspicion, and put the Ranch on alert. There was also the possibility that the Desians may have hand devices for communication which they could use to inform the Ranch before they could be struck down. They had to be really careful, and really quiet.

This task was much easier for Kratos and Sheena, whose experience and training was ideal for the situation. Lloyd was a fast learner at times like this, so it was only a matter of time before his movements were quick, and relatively quiet. Genis and Raine had some mild difficulty, but were able to keep up with Lloyd. Colette was another story, 'Considering she's an angel, she isn't very graceful.' Thought Sheena, as Genis helped her up for the fourth time. The only time this became a problem, was when she tripped in plain view of a single Desian soldier, near the ventilation system they were trying to find. The Desian seemed too shocked to yell out straight away, not expected the Chosen herself to be right outside the Ranch, which gave Sheena the time she needed. Quick as a flash, a small knife was lodged in his throat, and he fell dead on the floor. She then jumped out of her own hiding spot, and pulled the body into the bushes; she couldn't risk leaving it in the open.

Finally, they had made it to their destination. Corrine was right, there was a considerably large boulder blocking the vent. "You sure you can move this thing, Colette?"

"I'll try." She replied, and moved next to the boulder. She drew out her spectral wings, and pushed as hard as she could against it. She pushed as hard as she could, and the boulder only moved a small amount. She panted heavily, "I'm, sorry." She said, looking down with a frown.

"Don't worry," comforted Genis, "you did your best." Kratos remained quiet, he was sure she would be able to do it. Perhaps her strength was still manifesting.

"You were able to move it a bit, Colette," said Lloyd, "maybe if we all help we can move it. It can't take much more effort to make it move."

Kratos' eyes widened as an idea came to him, "I believe Lloyd may be correct."

"Well that's a first."

"Shut it, Genis!" exclaimed Lloyd, as he, Genis and Kratos moved over to help Colette.

"Ready?" asked Kratos, "One. Two. Three!" and they all began to push. Kratos was careful, very careful. He could not produce his own wings at any cost, but he could channel some of his power in order to strengthen himself. He couldn't do it too much though. Slowly, the boulder began to move, as the vent was revealed.

"Great job everybody!" squealed Colette.

"Hey, don't thank us. You did most of the pushing." Smiled Lloyd.

"Let us continue." Stated Kratos, and he entered the vent.

0000000

It wasn't, surprisingly that bad; it was big enough so they barely had to crouch, making it perfect size for Genis, and it was pretty much a straight line. It was horrible when they found possible exit points, and looked through the grating to see many prisoners, either locked in a cell or being in forced labour. No matter how much they wanted to charge in and help those people, they knew they could not; there would be either a locked door to try and break through, or a large group of Desians to fight. As they wanted minimal detection, they could not risk this. Eventually, they found what appeared to be the end of the vent. Peering through they could see a control room similar to the one Lloyd, Sheena and Raine had been in before, and a single Desian.

"We need to take him out quickly," Whispered Kratos.

"No problem!" and Lloyd smashed through the grating and slashed at the Desian's back. He gave a short gasp of pain, before falling down to the ground. The others emerged from the vent, and Raine rushed to the computer terminal.

"We appear to be in the centre of the Ranch." She said, loading up a map of their position. "The prisoners are being held in the eastern end of the Ranch," the relevant part of the map glowed green.

"And Kvar?" asked Lloyd in a growl.

"His main control room is in the western end."

"Typical." Sighed Genis.

"Kvar is smart," started Kratos, "If we go after the prisoners he will send every Desian there to kill anyone and everyone. However, if we go after him first, he is cruel enough to have a way to execute the prisoners from his control room, so he'll have easy hostages against us." He sighed, "I believe our best course of action is to split into two groups. We must save the prisoners and face Kvar simultaneously."

They were all silent, splitting up would be risky, and dangerous for both groups, but they knew Kratos was right. They had no choice. "My advice would be for me, Lloyd and Sheena to face Kvar; we are the strongest warriors and will stand the best chance against him." Stated Kratos, he looked to Raine, "You will be in charge of the second group, find the hostages as fast as you can and set them free. Be careful; protect the Chosen at all costs."

"Right." Said Raine; that made the only fighter n their team Colette, which in her view was risky by itself. However, there was no way Lloyd would agree not to fight Kvar, she still wasn't sure if Sheena could be trusted with Colette, and Kratos...he seemed to have his own personal desire to go after Kvar. For a moment, she pondered why, but decided now was not the time. "You be careful too; Kvar's a Grand Cardinal after all." She looked towards Kratos, Lloyd, and reluctantly gave a quick look to Sheena as well. Though her trust was still in question, she would need to be able to help the other two with her abilities to beat him.

0000000

Lloyd's group were rushing down a corridor, on the way to Kvar's control room, with Sheena leading the way; she had memorised the fastest route before they split up. They encountered several Desians as they progressed, but their shock at seeing intruders was great enough for the group to strike them down quickly and effortlessly. They were surprised at how infrequently these encounters were; they'd assumed there would be many more Desians than what they were finding.

"I believe that we were right when we thought the Ranch had yet to receive reinforcements," stated Kratos, when Lloyd voiced this thought, "Remember, you destroyed a large number during the fight for Luin, and then destroyed a fairly large group when escaping here last. Let us also not forget that there are many search parties looking for us, as well as those guarding the prisoners. I believe this Ranch's forces are spread far too thin."

"Lucky for us." Said Lloyd, "But I hope the others are having as much luck."

They continued for a short period before Sheena said, "One more left and we're there!" They turned the corner to see someone blocking the door.

"Not so fast."

0000000

Raine's group too had noticed the definite lack of resistance as they approached the main holding area, and Genis came with a similar conclusion as Kratos, "Don't forget," he said "we can't let anyone sound the alarm." They had so far been very successful at this, they were able to cast their spells from a distance without them noticing, and defeating them without any retaliation.

"We also need to find Noishe." Added Colette, with a worried look on her face, "Lloyd said he was captured too. I hope he's not hurt."

"I wonder if they have discovered anything about him yet?" Raine asked, temporarily entering her 'ruin' mode, "With this technology they could easily..."

"Raine!" interrupted Genis, "That's Lloyd's pet, try to sound a little worried. He's had it since, well ever."

"I believe that they would not have done anything with him yet." She answered, "With the discovery of Lloyd, Kvar's attention has been very focused. He may not have even 'processed' Luin's population in any way yet."

They continued down their path and found a doorway which led to a small courtyard, with quite a few prisoners being forced to work by a number of Desians. "There are too many to take out just with magic." Stated Raine, "Colette, after you use your first spell, switch to close combat and help give me and Genis time to cast ours."

"Okay." She nodded.

"You can do it, Colette." Said Genis.

They burst through the doors, several spells launching across the courtyard at the Desians, Colette then rushed in with her wings and struck down several Desians whilst they were still shocked from the initial attack.

Then voices were heard from the prisoners, "Chosen!" "It's the Chosen One!" "The Chosen has come to save us!"

Colette flew up in the air, drawing the attention of the remaining Desians. They were so distracted by this that they did not notice the two spell casters, to their demise. A couple more spells struck the group as a whole, killing the remaining soldiers.

"That was easy!" giggled Colette.

0000000

"So, one of Kvar's Elites I assume." Stated Kratos, how he could stay so calm in a situation such as this no-one would ever know.

"You would be correct." Said the Elite, he was wearing a dark blue uniform, and his helmet seemed to have horns coming from its top. "You know I admit I'm surprised that you would return so soon, even though Lord Kvar was certain you would." He looked towards Lloyd, "I suppose I should thank you for your last visit. You killed all but me and one other of our ranks, and now we have much more responsibility given to us by our Lord Kvar, meaning much more power over the others."

"One other?" asked Sheena, looking around to see if she could see any sign of them.

"Oh yes," he smiled, "I believe he was stationed at the other place Lord Kvar believed you to strike." He laughed, "I hope your friends don't meet him."

Lloyd growled and made to charge at him, but Kratos stuck out his arm to stop him, "I'll take him, you two go ahead and face Kvar."

"But..." started Lloyd.

"For all we know the other Elite may have contacted Kvar, we can't let him take any action. Go!"

They nodded and headed to the door, "Oh no you don't." Snarled the Elite, as he drew his sword and charged.

Before he could strike, Kratos parried his attack with his own sword, and kicked him hard away from the door, "GO!" he yelled. The two rushed through the door and up a staircase, the last thing they saw before the door closed was Kratos blocking another strike with his shield.

0000000

Colette, Raine, and Genis were rushing down another corridor; it was very hard to keep the prisoners from the first courtyard from charging out and trying to escape on their own. That would surely have sent off the alarms and stop them from saving anyone else. They could not let them join them, however, as they would be too easily spotted and caught. The only thing they could do was to let them stay where they were. They had a few of them dress up as Desians and pretended to force them to work if anyone came by. They agreed that they would come back for them once they rescued people from the main holding area.

"We should be getting close," said Raine, as they rounded another corner, "The holding area should be..." she gasped.

A Desian was standing in front of them. His armour was different, however; it was yellow, and there was a tuff of red hair coming from the top the helmet. "Well, hello there." He smiled.

"Colette! Genis! Be on your guard, this Desian is different from the others. He's much better skilled and stronger! He was the one of those who managed to lure us into that room before!" She raised her staff as her students raised their own weapons.

"Very good. Yes, I am one of Lord Kvar's Desian Elites; his strongest fighters." He picked up the large axe that was beside him, "And now, prepare to die!"

0000000

Lloyd and Sheena reached the top of the stairs, to enter a very large room with computers covering every corner of the room. It was obviously the largest room in the base, larger than even some of the prison cells.

"I see you've finally made it," came a sneering voice, "I began to wonder if you would actually come." They turned to see Kvar, standing in front of the largest screen.

"So these are the pests you have been complaining about, Kvar." There was a female face with long green hair on the screen, behind Kvar, "If these were the two who defeated your army, I'm amazed you expect to surpass my position. You need to consider how you train your army."

"Do not test me, Pronyma," Kvar glared at the screen, "nor change the subject; I still want to know why you have been spying on me, and why you are hindering my process!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Kvar. I ask you not to waste my time with fruitless accusations; some of us actually have important matters to tend to." The screen went black.

"Say what you will, Pronyma," started Kvar, even though the transmission was clearly over, "you will not be so smug when I am the leader of the Grand Cardinals." He then turned to Lloyd and Sheena, as if only just remembering they were there, "Ah, now it's time to deal with you." He raised his staff, but instead of charging, he yelled, "Kill them! Make them suffer!" and two floating machines dropped from the ceiling, and attacked. They were very simple in design, looking like small floating sceptres, with a floating ring around them. Knowing Kvar, however, Lloyd and Sheena did not dare to underestimate them; Kvar wouldn't use them if they were not deadly.

The two machines charged, looking as if to ram the two warriors. Sheena leapt out of the way just in time, but Lloyd stood his ground, readying himself to strike the oncoming foe. Before his blade made contact, however, the machine swerved quickly out of the way, missing it by inches, before charging into Lloyd's unguarded side. Lloyd was sent flying across the room, and before he could even recover from the shock of the counter, the machine sent a bolt of lightning in his direction.

"Lloyd!" cried Sheena, and she rushed into the path of the attack, creating a green shield around her, "You okay?" she asked, keeping her eyes on both machines.

Lloyd groaned, "They're fast." He stated, pushing himself back off the ground.

"They're smart too. We're gonna have to finish this quickly to be able to fight Kvar."

"I'm open to suggestions." The two machines fired lightning at them once again, making the two warriors jump in opposite directions to avoid it. Just before Sheena landed on the ground, both machines charged her, attempting to finish her off quickly. "No!" Lloyd was now in front of Sheena, and used both his swords to block both enemies. He did not know how he got to her in time, he was surely too far away, he didn't even remember moving towards her. All he knew was that he had to protect Sheena, and then he was there. With nothing but pure strength, and determination, he swung both swords and pushed both machines away.

"Lloyd, charge them!" yelled Sheena, raising two cards, "I'm right behind you!"

"Right!" he didn't know what Sheena had in mind, but he trusted her instincts. He charged, and Sheena ran directly behind him.

The machines aimed balls of lightning at the pair as they charged, "Block them!" yelled Sheena, "Keep pushing forward!"

"What? How?"

"Concentrate your mana into your swords and use them to repel the attacks!"

"Right!" and he did so, swinging at every ball of lightning fired at them, and they were still moving. Although he was in the midst of battle, Lloyd couldn't help but think, 'Wow, Kratos never taught me that.'

Within moments the two were upon the two machines, and Sheena was ready to make her move. As the machines charged towards Lloyd, she jumped onto his shoulder, pushed herself upwards, and flipped towards the enemies. Before they could move, she had placed a card on the top of each machine, which Lloyd followed with a wave of energy in the shape of a lion's head, forcing them away from the two warriors, before each card exploded, destroying both machines completely.

A slow, loud clapping was heard, "Oh, very good." Said Kvar, "You two did much better than I expected." He grinned evilly, "However, now you must face me."

0000000

Colette dove just in time to avoid the Elite's large axe, allowing it to hit the floor beside her. The impact from this attack cracked the metal ground with ease, and actually made the surroundings shake. It was clear that this Desian was immensely strong, giving him a very clear advantage over the three. Despite this, Colette charged in and attempted to slash across his chest with her chakram. The Elite merle laughed and swung out his fist, colliding with her face and knocking her down to the floor. Although she couldn't feel this punch, she knew it had dealt some damage, and she looked up to see him raise his axe in another attempt to strike her down. The attack did not hit, it was stopped by a barrier that appeared between the weapon and its would-be-victim. Before he had a chance to react, he was struck in the face by a fireball.

"Colette!" yelled Genis, running to her side. Raine had created a barrier over Colette whilst Genis attacked the Desian. "Are you okay?"

"I'm...okay" she said, standing herself back up.

"He's too strong to fight full on." Stated Raine, "You need to be careful in how and when you strike." She frowned at the Elite, he had already recovered from Genis' attack, as if it were more shock than pain. 'Normal Desians we could have handled,' she thought, 'even three against one this fight is going to be tough.' Although she would not admit it in front of the younger two, she was worried; without any real melee fighter amongst them, the enemy would have the advantage.

The Elite smiled and charged again, swinging his axe downwards. The group jumped away in separate directions, but the recoil from the Elite's attack didn't even faze him, as he raised it and charged towards Genis.

"No!" yelled Colette, spreading her wings. Dozens of spectral feathers flew out of her wings, spinning towards the Elite.

The Elite yelled in pain as he was smashed into the wall. "Everyone, now!" commanded Raine, "Attack him whilst we still have the chance!" and she fired a small ball of light towards the fallen enemy.

"Right!" yelled the two, as Colette and Genis sent barrages of feathers and fireballs as well, causing a cloud of smoke and debris to block him from view. Before they even had a chance to celebrate, they heard a gruff laughter from within the veil of smoke.

"Not bad," and the Elite stood up, out of the smoke, "but still not enough to beat me."

0000000

Kratos parried yet another of his enemy's strikes; he was toying with him. He could easily defeat this Elite in an instant, and help destroy Kvar. He could not do it, however, he could not blow his cover; even Lloyd would not fail to notice if he defeated him too quickly. He also could not wait too long; Kvar was devious in his methods, would use any means to obtain victory. He could not risk losing Lloyd, or let him feel the pain of losing Sheena. He slashed at the Elite, causing him to jump back out the way. "You're finished." Laughed the Elite, and he raised his sword in the air. The blade became engulfed by lightning, and he swung it downwards. A wave of lightning charged towards Kratos.

Kratos just stood there, and watched the wave charge at him, 'Time to end this.' He thought, and in a flash of light he was behind the Elite, who believed him to still be in the line of fire. It was then he felt a sharp pain, and looked down to see a sword sticking through his chest, and a single, spectral feather floating to the ground.

"Im...possible, you're..." but before he could finish, he fell to the floor, dead.

Kratos turned, and slowly began walking up the stairs, "Your turn, Kvar." He said aloud.

0000000

Sheena and Lloyd were fairing badly; although it appeared Kvar to focus mostly on using magic, he was still highly skilled with his staff. He was blocking both their attacks with ease, taking advantage of their weaknesses, almost as he was planning their moves.

Once again, Kvar fired a bolt of lightning towards Sheena, something neither had failed to notice. It was almost as if he was trying to take her out first. Every time he fired, Sheena either blocked herself, or Lloyd stood and blocked for her so she could counter but throwing another card. But even then, Kvar seemed ready for it, and dodged with very little effort.

Once more, Lloyd blocked the attack for Sheena, and once more, she threw several cards towards Kvar. This time, Kvar fired another wave of lightning to intercept her attack, resulting in a large veil of smoke to block each side's sight of their opponent. Through the smoke, Kvar fired another bolt of lightning. Lloyd barely dodged the attack, but Sheena was not so lucky. She tried to dodge too late, and the attack hit her arm.

"Augh!" screamed Sheena in pain, as she clutched her wounded limb.

"Sheena!" Lloyd yelled, and he rushed to her side, "Sheena, are you okay?"

"I'm...fine," she forced, "I can't...use my arm. Look out!"

Lloyd turned just in time to see Kvar charging straight at him, his staff ready to swing down on him. He raised a sword and blocked it inches from his head, "Damn, you." He growled, and he pushed Kvar away from his injured comrade, anger filling inside him. "Sheena, stay back!" he raised his swords, "I'll handle him."

"Lloyd, you can't!" she cried, still holding her arm, "We could barely take him together."

"Don't worry," he said, rather softly considering their situation, "you're in no fit state to fight." A faint glow seemed to radiate around him, "This bastard's mine!" He charged, and made to slash at Kvar's midsection.

Kvar blocked with his staff, and a powerful burst of energy was released when the weapons collided. Lloyd attacked again, this time a downwards strike, Kvar blocked again, and another burst of energy was released. Kvar smiled, "It appears my creation is working perfectly. What a waste that it's being used by such an idiotic being like yourself." Lloyd, growled in frustration, and lunged at him, swinging widely. He laughed and easily dodged the attack. A powerful wave of energy was released from Lloyd's attack, and completely destroyed the nearby machines. Kvar laughed again, "You have no self-control, no intellect." He dodged another attack, "You are completely wasting your power." And another, "That's why I concentrated on your pathetic friend there; she's the brains, you're just the muscle." At this, Lloyd struck again; however this time the attack was much weaker than before. Kvar laughed, "You see, you are already getting weaker. There's no hope of you winning now." And he rammed his staff into Lloyd's chest, pushing him away and winding him badly.

"Damn...you!" he panted, glaring at his opponent. Suddenly, Kvar yelled in pain; Sheena had managed to sneak behind him and slash at his back using her remaining arm.

Kvar yelled in frustration, "You pathetic scum!" he span round and used his momentum to strike her head with his staff. Sheena was sent flying into the wall, and showed no sign of movement as she lay on the floor. "Your puny spirit can't help you this time!"

"Sheena! NO!" cried Lloyd, he wasn't sure what condition she was in, but he knew it was Kvar's fault, and he knew the only way he could try and help her was to defeat him. "You...you..." he glared at Kvar. He concentrated with all his might, 'I need this power!' he thought, 'I need to beat him! I need to save her!' He charged at Kvar, raising both swords above his head. Both began to glow with the same golden aura, and for a brief second, they appeared to merge into one large blade.

"Please," began Kvar, "this again?" he raised his staff in order to block, "You're just wasting your power again." When Lloyd's attack connected, however, it sliced through it like it was nothing. Kvar didn't even have time to realise what had happened, before he was hit by the main front of the attack. The impact launched him straight across the room, and was smashed into the wall, causing smoke and debris to block him from view.

The glow around Lloyd's swords faded, and he panted, staring at the spot in the smoke where Kvar landed, waiting, hoping to see him fallen.

0000000

The Elite swung again, smashing his axe into the ground just after Genis dodged. This was all they could do; dodge. None of them were strong enough to block the axe, the Elite gave them no time to cast their stronger spells, and only Colette was fast enough to dodge and counter his attack. This proved very ineffective, as the Elite's armour seemed to be unusually strong; it appeared Kvar spared nothing to empower these Desians. What was worse was that the Elite showed no signs of tiring. He charged towards Genis again, striking downwards. Again Genis dodged, but the smile on his faced showed he had fallen into a trap. The Elite pulled his axe out of the ground, and with it a large chunk of the metal and rock that was once the floor. He kicked it at the young mage who was unable to dodge, leaving him lying on the ground, barely able to move. The Elite laughed and charged, ready to end his life.

"NO!" cried Colette, and she jumped between the two, making a grab for the Elite's weapon. To everyone's surprise, the axe stopped in mid-swing; Colette had grabbed it below the blade and was holding it in place. Without pausing to think, she threw a wild and random punch towards the Elite, causing him to fly backwards down the hall. "Huh?"

"C-Colette." Stuttered Genis, "How...did you...?"

Raine had run to her younger brother's side before he could finish, and instantly began healing him. "It seems that Colette's angelic strength is greater than we thought."

"Wow!" was all Colette was able to say, she was still surprised at what she just did.

"Colette, we need you to finish this." Stated Raine, "Our spells are ineffective and we are running out of time."

"But...I" She wasn't sure if she could do it on her own, even with her recently enhanced strength.

"Colette, we need to free those prisoners," urged Raine, "You're our only chance of beating him."

Meanwhile, the Elite had picked himself up, but he was having some trouble, 'How is this possible?' he thought. He yelled in anger, and charged towards the blonde, "I will destroy you!"

Colette looked at the oncoming assault, and did the first thing that came into her head. She rose into the air, and flew directly at the Elite. He swung his axe as hard as he could, but Colette was much swifter in the air, and dodged it with ease. She formed a small ball in her hand and threw it at the Elite. Once it connected it exploded in a strike of lightning, making the Elite let go of his weapon. She grabbed onto it and swung it round, colliding the flat end of the axe blade with his head, smashing him into the wall. This time, he did not get back up.

"Colette, you did it!" exclaimed Genis, who was now able to stand up again, though he still limped as he walked towards his friend.

"Good job, Colette." Stated Raine, as Colette landed and put away her wings.

"Thanks, guys!" she beamed, "I sure am lucky to discover my new ability when I did." She turned, "Now let's go free those prisoners!"

They quickly rushed back down the now fairly demolished corridor, Genis now on Colette's back, and reached the door to the detention area. "There's a code holding the door shut." Started Raine, "It'll take me a couple minutes to decipher it."

"Don't worry, Professor!" said Colette, putting Genis down, "I'll open it!" and she charged at the door, ready to force it open. Just before reaching it, she tripped, and fell head first into the door. A loud bang was heard, as the door fell down along with Colette.

"Well," sighed Raine, "that's certainly one way of doing it."

"That's our Colette!" Genis couldn't help but chuckle.

0000000

Kratos ran up the stairs, listening to the sounds of the battle raging above him. He couldn't tell for sure who was winning, but his heart sank when he heard the distinct, yet muffled cry of "Sheena! NO!" Was he too late to help them? Just as he reached the entrance to the main control room, the whole staircase shook as if an earthquake just hit, making Kratos stumble, despite his many years of training. He could not help but wonder, what caused this impact, for he knew Kvar could not do so.

He rushed through the door, praying both warriors were safe. What he saw both worried and surprised him; Kvar was in front of him, with his back towards him, and Lloyd was glaring at him, but lowering his swords, a look of defeat on his face. From what he could see, Kvar was extremely wounded, and Lloyd could easily defeat him in this state. Then he saw that Kvar was holding a splintered weapon with one hand, and the other seemed to be holding on to something...or someone...Sheena! Now he understood, Kvar must have taken down Sheena, and then lost to Lloyd somehow. Being unable to do anything else, he must have grabbed Sheena and held her hostage.

He smiled; neither warrior noticed his arrival, meaning Kratos could easily thrust his sword through Kvar's back, finally getting his revenge. However, the blade would also pierce through Sheena. Kratos drew his blade, he couldn't kill Sheena, for Lloyd's sake, but he had to take out Kvar. He slowly walked towards the unsuspecting victim.

0000000

Lloyd panted, as he waited for what seemed like a lifetime for the smokescreen to clear. If Kvar wasn't down, he wasn't sure if he had the energy to finish him. Finally, the veil of debris faded away. "Sheena!" he panted. Kvar was severely wounded, but whilst the smoke was blocking Lloyd's view, he was able to limp, and stumble his way to the unconscious Sheena, pulled up he limp body, and raised his now splintered weapon to the side of her neck.

"It appears..." he started, breathing heavily, "...I underestimated you...but I do know you wouldn't let me harm this scum...if you could do anything." He did his best to put up his evil smile, knowing he was back in control of the battle. "Now put down your swords...and remove your exsphere." Lloyd growled, he was right, he wouldn't. He couldn't let anything happen to her. Slowly, he lowered his swords, cursing himself for letting him get anywhere near her, for making all their efforts to be in vain, for being unable to avenge his mother. Kvar laughed, "To think you inferior beings nearly beat me."

Before he let go of them completely, he heard Kvar scream out in pain, "Feel the pain!" came the voice of Kratos, who had slashed across Kvar's back, causing him to let go of Sheena, who fell limply to the floor, "Of those inferior beings!" he slashed again, and Kvar turned around to face his doom "As you burn in hell!" and he thrust his sword through Kvar's chest a look of pure hatred etched on both faces.

"Kratos!" exclaimed Lloyd, as he saw Kvar's dead body fall, "Sheena!" and he rushed to his fallen comrade, "Sheena! Sheena!" but she remained still and silent, "Damn it! Kratos, please, help her!" expecting Kratos to just stand there and leave Sheena to her fate, was surprised when he quickly knelt down beside the pair and raised his hand to her body. Sheena was engulfed in a faint green glow, flowing from Kratos hand.

"She should be fine," He said, "but we'll need to let Raine tend to her. Her healing powers surpass my own, and I can only heal her enough for her to stay alive."

As if on cue, the door opened again, and the Professor came running in, "Professor!" cried Lloyd and without asking about the others or the prisoners, "Sheena needs you!"

Raine hurried to their sides, but looked as if she was going to argue against keeping a potential enemy alive. The look given to her by both swordsmen however was enough to keep her silent, as she knelt beside the unconscious ninja. She raised her staff, and a substantially larger green glow surrounded her. The ninja gave a slight moan, and her eyes opened slightly.

"Lloyd?" she asked, very faintly. "Are you?"

"I'm fine," he smiled, knowing that she was safe.

"Kvar?"

"He's down," and he looked up to Kratos, and smiled appreciatively, "we got him." She smiled, and closed her eyes again. "Sheena?!"

"Relax, Lloyd." Stated Raine, "She'll be fine, she just needs rest."

He turned to Raine, "Thank you, Professor." He looked back to the elder swordsman, "Thank you, Kratos."

"We need to destroy this base." Said Raine, in a very formal and commanding tone, "Colette and Genis are helping the prisoners out of the base. Now Kvar is gone that's all we need to do." And she immediately walked over to one of the undamaged computer terminals, using all her will not to complain at the destruction of such advanced and beautiful technology by the warriors' battle.

Lloyd picked up Sheena, "Then let's go!"

0000000

Sheena stirred, as she began to wake up, seeing the starry night sky above. She slowly sat up to see Lloyd sat beside him, his eyes closed as if he had fallen asleep, "Lloyd?" he didn't answer; he was asleep. She couldn't help but laugh slightly.

"He hasn't left your side." Came a voice the other side of her.

"Corrine?" the little fox spirit was looking at her excitedly. She then felt a small wet feeling against her hand. She turned to see the great dog-like animal that was Lloyd's pet, curled between his master and herself. "Huh?"

Corrine chuckled, "That's Noishe, he hasn't left Lloyd's side since we rescued him. I think he's making sure you're okay now that you're close to Lloyd." Sheena continued to look confused as she watched the animal look at her in a friendly way.

It was then she realised what they had just attempted, "Wait, what happened back in the Ranch?" she could remember waking for a brief moment to see Lloyd, who told her they had won which at the time was all she wanted to hear. Now she was awake she wanted to know exactly what happened.

"To be honest I don't really know," answered the spirit, "I couldn't tell what was happening, and I couldn't help you for some reason. I think Kvar put some kind of barrier around his control room or something, so I couldn't interfere at all.

She turned to Lloyd, wishing he would wake up, but didn't want to disturb him. As if sensing what she wanted, Noishe stood up and jumped on top of Lloyd, both waking him up and toppling him over, "Ah! Noishe!" complained Lloyd. Sheena burst into a fit of laughter. Lloyd turned and noticed that Sheena was now awake, "Sheena! How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine!" she replied, still smiling, "What about you?"

"I'm fine, Raine healed me quite quickly. It was you I was worried about; you took quite a beating." He then looked down in disgust, "I'm sorry, Sheena."

"Huh? What about?" she asked in confusion, "It's not your fault I was hurt, I just wasn't fast enough."

"But you tried to help me after that. Kvar was right; I was wasting my power, and when I finally used it right, I hit him right next to you whilst you were unconscious; I pretty much invited him to use you as a hostage. If Kratos hadn't shown up, he would've killed us both."

"Lloyd," started Sheena, placing a hand on his shoulder in comfort, "don't blame yourself, you didn't know Kvar was going to get back up. He was the one who used a cowardly trick in order to win." Lloyd was still looking away from her, "Listen, Kvar seemed to be planning to use me at some point; he watched us fight those two robots so he could see how we work as a team. He saw that whenever I was about to be struck, you were there to block for me. He knew that if I was unable to fight, I'd be easy to use as a hostage, and if he did," she paused for a minute, blushing slightly, "you'd do whatever you needed to save me."

There was a brief pause, before Lloyd said, "I'm glad you're safe, Sheena." Sheena smiled, though it soon became a sad smile. Now Kvar had been defeated and the citizens of Luin rescued, her mind had returned to her newest problem; her choice between Lloyd and her home world. "Sheena? Are you okay?" Lloyd had noticed her saddened expression.

"I'm...fine, Lloyd." She lied. She then felt a small pressure on her leg.

"Tell him, Sheena." Said Corrine.

"Lloyd," she began, not looking at him, "I wanna tell you why I was sent to kill the Cho...Colette." Lloyd looked over to the rest of the group, making sure they were not eavesdropping. They were currently helping the prisoners make plans for themselves. Many had exspheres attached to them, which had to be removed; they were being sent to Dirk. The prisoners from Luin were deciding whether to migrate to Asgard or Hima, some were even considering trying to rebuild Luin. He turned back to Sheena, and motioned her to continue.

"Well...I'm not from this world; from Sylverant. I come from a world in parallel to this one; a world named Tethe'Alla." Lloyd was shocked at this statement, but didn't interrupt; Sheena seemed to have difficulty admitting this without his questioning. "Unlike your world, my world is currently flourishing; there is abundant mana, allowing us to grow surplus crops, and other plants, we also have far more advanced technology. Anyway, we only have this abundance of mana, because your world wanes. Our worlds are like an hour glass, one side fills as the other empties." She paused again, "If Colette succeeds in the Journey of Regeneration, this world will increase in its prosperity, at the cost of my world starting to decay, and become just like this."

"So you were sent to kill Colette, so your world continues to have mana?" she nodded, waiting for him to shout, yell, hate, accuse her...just like everyone else.

"I'm so sorry, Lloyd."

"Do you want this world destroyed?"

Sheena, didn't answer straight away, "I don't know what I want," tears were starting to form in her eyes, "I just wanted to be accepted in my world, I thought if I could save it, I would be a hero. When I arrived here, I saw so much pain, so much suffering, yet the people were always willing to help me, especially those from Luin. They allowed me free lodging and food whilst I was lost. I don't want my world destroyed, but I don't want to harm Colette, I don't want to let this world suffer any longer...I don't want to hurt you." And then, something she did not suspect happened, Lloyd embraced her in a strong hug. She returned the hug, and silently allowed her tears to flow out. She felt so secure with him.

Lloyd pulled away, "I knew you had to have a good reason." He smiled, "Well, looks like I'm gonna be using my exsphere a little longer." She blinked in confusion, "I'm not gonna let you harm Colette, I won't let this world be destroyed." Sheena's heart dropped again, in its current rollercoaster ride, "However, I don't want that to mean your world has to suffer. We're gonna find a way so that both worlds can live, without having to sacrifice the other."

"You'll do that?"

"There has to be another way, and we'll find it together." His hand had found hers and clenched it reassuringly. "I told you I want you to be there when I release my mother, and that'll be when we save both worlds." He gave her another warm, confident smile.

"Thanks, Lloyd"

"There is one catch though."

"Huh?"

"I'm not that smart, so we'll have to tell the others eventually. Not right now," he added at the look on her face, "but when you're ready, we need to tell them. They deserve the truth, especially Colette"

"You're right." She hugged him, a thank you for him excepting her, for still caring for her. 'I hope there is a way, Lloyd.' She thought, 'I don't know what I'll do if there isn't.'

0000000

Many months had passed, as well as many adventures. The group, now minus the traitorous mercenary, but including a criminal, young girl, and the Chosen of Tethe'Alla, awed at the sight of the newly rebuilt Luin. Pietro, the man Sheena had saved from the Ranch, assigned himself the duty of rebuilding Luin to its former glory. It had taken lots time, effort, and charitable donations, but the city was reborn. Not only that, but it was enhanced so much beyond its previous design, that it now rivalled some of the smaller cities in Tethe'Alla.

The group were exploring the town, marvelling at the amazing job Pietro had done. When they reached the area of the old fountain, their jaws dropped. A statue comprising of three people now stood in its centre; Lloyd, Sheena, and between them the old Mayor. Each statue was perfectly made, as if no expense was dodged in making them as realistic as possible. A plaque beneath it read:

_This monument stands as a memorial for all the brave soldiers who stood to protect the city of Luin, including the illustrious mayor, who fought as a hero alongside the two saviours of Luin, who rescued the citizens from the Grand Cardinal. Long live the memories of the Defenders of Luin._

Along the bottom of the fountain were a list of names of all the soldiers who fought alongside Lloyd and Sheena, the phrase 'Defender of Luin' inscribed beneath them. Beneath Lloyd and Sheena's names bore the phrase 'Saviour of Luin'. Upon reading these words, Lloyd and Sheena's hands found each other, and entwined.

* * *

There you go. I'm surprised I wrote this much to be honest. I think this one chapter is bigger than one of my old stories. Apologies again for the time it took me. I'm not sure when or what I will update next. I'm determined to finish "To save the one you love" but I have a few more one-shot ideas. Whichever road I take, it may be a while.


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